


endless desire

by lo_ells



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Exes, F/F, Fluff, Jealousy, classic exes to lovers, gonna get messy but a happy ending as always, viseul engaged
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 31,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26224507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lo_ells/pseuds/lo_ells
Summary: To Jinsol, Sooyoung is the one that got away. Heartbreak and a lack of closure makes it difficult for Jinsol to move on, having not seen her ex since their breakup.That is, until the two are forced to confront each other at their best friends' wedding, in which they are both the maid of honours, and pent up feelings are bound to be let loose.
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul
Comments: 60
Kudos: 230





	1. the arrival

**Author's Note:**

> i never thought i'd see the day that i'd write an yvesoul fic but i'm way too excited about this idea so here we are! never written for them so haha hope y'all like it but it's gonna be a ride so :)

It was supposed to be the happiest day of Jinsol’s life.

Four years slaving away at her desk until the birds signalled dawn finishing papers, sketches, and reports. Four years listening to boring professors drain on about architecture, but more commonly about topics completely unrelated. Four years suffering with her fellow peers, having to begrudgingly deal with their utter stupidity.

It was her graduation day, signalling the end of the best, and worst, four years of her life.

She’d just welcomed her parents to the campus, the pair not phased at all by the grueling eight hour journey. Her dads were beaming from ear to ear the moment she spotted them, and they pulled her into a signature family bear hug.

At 22, one would think Jinsol would be embarrassed by her fathers’ antics. But after living away from them for so long, she appreciates them that much more.

She was on her way back to her dorm, having left her dads to check into their hotel for the night. She still had to change into her gown and meet up with Haseul and Vivi before the ceremony.

The day was beautiful. The sun was shining brighter than it had in months, the birds singing a tune as Jinsol strolled leisurely through the campus. Every landmark she passed brought with it a memory.

Her and Haseul, barely sober enough to stand, stumbling their way through the campus in the dead of night before ending up face first in the fountain, the two smelling like sewer water for days.

Her and Vivi sitting outside the Arts building, coffees in hand, gossipping about the latest drama between their anthropology professor and one of their classmates.

And, of course, her and Sooyoung.

Jinsol’s university experience was completely synonymous with Sooyoung. Every memory of the place, every day she lived through, Sooyoung was there. Jinsol would struggle to think of a point in the past four years that Sooyoung wasn’t right beside her. Laughing with her, studying with her, kissing her. She was Jinsol’s constant throughout her entire degree, and the main reason why those four years were some of her best.

As Jinsol entered her dorm building, she smiled thinking about all of the memories she and Sooyoung had made since they moved in together in their third year. Sneaking down to the mailroom, stealing kisses in the elevator, spending New Years Eve on the roof.

Sooyoung was everything to Jinsol. Everything. And the blonde couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with her soulmate.

Once the elevator doors opened to reveal Jinsol’s floor, she maneuvered around all of the outgoing students carrying various boxes and furniture, attempting to make it to their room in one piece.

She finally arrived, and opened the door to reveal her girlfriend’s back to her, Sooyoung staring at her computer.

“Hey babe, I just met up with my dads. They are so excited to see you, by the way, almost more than they are to see me graduate.”

When Jinsol didn’t get an immediate reply, she turned from where she was retrieving her gown to look in Sooyoung’s direction. The girl hadn’t moved, appearing to be as still as a statue.

“Babe? Is something wrong?” Jinsol asked cautiously.

Sooyoung finally turned around to face Jinsol, and the look on the brunette’s face alone caused a sinking feeling to appear in Jinsol’s stomach.

“I… I don’t really know how to say this,” Sooyoung started, struggling to meet Jinsol’s eyes, the nervousness clear as day on the brunette’s features and in her agitation.

All of the happiness, excitement, and hope for the future Jinsol had been feeling the entire day became immediately replaced with an overwhelming feeling of dread.

Jinsol waited, encouraging Sooyoung to just spit it out, even though a large part of her feared what would happen when she did so.

Sooyoung sighed, and shook her head slightly, clearly wanting to be anywhere else, and to be doing anything else but what she was about to do.

“I meant to tell you before, but I applied for this job in Germany a couple of months ago. It was super competitive, working for this big fashion designer over there. I didn’t think I had a shot, but they just got back to me and… I got it.”

It took a moment for Sooyoung’s timid words to register in Jinsol’s brain, but her immediate reaction was joy, and she wasn’t quick to hide it.

“That’s great! I don’t know why you didn’t tell me but it sounds like an amazing opportunity, baby! I’m so proud of you,” Jinsol beamed, not fully understanding why Sooyoung still seemed so nervous.

Regardless, Jinsol brought her girlfriend into her arms anyways, but it wasn’t long before Sooyoung pulled back.

“What? Is that not all?” Jinsol asked, more confused than anything else.

“It’s in Germany, Jinsol. Did you not hear that part?” Sooyoung asked.

“Well, yes, of course I did. I can’t say that was what I had pictured but we can always make it work! I’m sure there are plenty of buildings that need designing over there,” Jinsol replied, already picturing her and Sooyoung strolling through the historic European streets.

“But, you got that internship downtown, remember? With one of the best architecture firms in the state?” Sooyoung pressed. The sinking feeling started to return in Jinsol’s stomach.

“I don’t have to take it, Sooyoung. There would be other opportunities for me, I’m sure. But this sounds incredible, you’ve always wanted to work in fashion in Europe, it’s your dream.”

Sooyoung shook her head again. “Jinsol, I can’t ask you to give that up for me.”

Jinsol’s heart started to pound loud in her chest. She took a step forward on instinct, only for Sooyoung to retreat two in tandem.

“But, you aren’t asking me. I’m saying that I’ll give it up. I love you, Sooyoung. I don’t care where we are or what I’m doing, as long as I have you, that’s enough,” Jinsol pleaded, finally starting to understand the cause of her girlfriend’s uncharacteristic anxiety.

“I’m sorry. I really am, but… I could never live with myself if I let you do that,” Sooyoung whispered, barely audible enough for Jinsol to hear.

But she did, and it broke her heart beyond repair.

“Wh- what are you saying?” Jinsol asked shakily, the tears already threatening to fall.

Sooyoung met her gaze one final time, and Jinsol, so used to seeing them bright and full of life, saw nothing but sorrow, emptiness, and fear in the eyes she had grown to love so much.

In an instant, Sooyoung was gone.

And with her, all of the memories Jinsol had held so dear to her flash through her mind, images of Sooyoung’s smiling face suddenly made her feel sick.

She broke down into sobs, wracking her whole body to the point where she couldn’t stand any longer. She let herself cry for what seemed like forever, the sound of her phone ringing the only thing to temporarily distract her from the suckerpunch to the gut.

It was Haseul, texting her asking what was taking so long.

Of course. It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life.

Jinsol dragged herself off the floor, found it in her to fix her entirely ruined makeup, and pulled herself together enough to make it out the door and across that good for nothing stage.

She smiled when she needed to smile, welcomed the open arms of her dads, and celebrated with Haseul and Vivi.

Sooyoung, however, was nowhere to be found. Jinsol heard her name be called well before her own, but shut her eyes as to avoid having a meltdown in front of her entire graduating class.

She hoped she could find Sooyoung again afterwards, that they could talk this horrible idea through. Jinsol struggled to believe that the brunette could make this life changing decision for her, for them, without so much as a thought towards Jinsol’s feelings on the subject.

It was like what Jinsol wanted didn’t even matter, and the entire ceremony, Jinsol wondered if that ever did matter.

But Jinsol never did find Sooyoung.

Not after the hats were thrown, not back at their dorm, and not at Haseul and Vivi’s graduation party.

By the time Jinsol had returned to their apartment in the early hours of the following morning, all of Sooyoung’s things were gone. And the longer that time went by without a word from her assumed ex-girlfriend, the more Jinsol began to wonder if she was ever there to begin with.

“Hey, can you keep your sad reminiscing to yourself? You’re messing with my vibe.”

Jinsol is brought back to her only slightly more pleasant reality by her best friend Hyunjin nudging her in the side. The blonde turns to see her friend playing some first person shooter on her phone, not paying the other train passengers any mind as she yells expletives into her Airpods.

Jinsol sighs, attempting to follow Hyunjin’s wishes and deciding to focus on the beautiful, serene landscape outside her window rather than what is awaiting her once they reach their destination.

To their luck, Jinsol’s best friends Haseul and Vivi didn’t follow in Jinsol and Sooyoung’s footsteps. Despite a bit of a turbulent relationship in college, the two have stuck together through thick and thin, being the most picture perfect couple Jinsol knows.

Unfortunately, in the three years or so since the four of them graduated, Jinsol hasn’t seen Haseul or Vivi as much as any of them would have liked. Jinsol lives in the city, that internship turning into a permanent deal, whereas the couple live a few hours north in a small town, but big enough for them.

Jinsol is incredibly busy with her job, and she always uses her work as an excuse to turn down Haseul’s incessant requests to catch up for lunch whenever she’s in town. Jinsol knows it saddens Haseul with each rejection, but honestly, being with the two of them only reminds her of Sooyoung.

It may seem sad, but Jinsol doesn’t mind being distracted by work, because she’s too busy to date, to see anyone but Hyunjin really, and she doesn’t spend her days thinking about the one that got away.

Until, of course, Haseul had called a few months back with the exciting news that Vivi had proposed to her. Jinsol was over the moon, because why wouldn’t she be. She felt a little guilty, having missed so much in the past few years due to her own embarrassment, but Haseul didn’t seem to care about that, insisting that Jinsol be her maid of honour.

Jinsol was floored, and honoured, and accepted without a second thought, happy to have something to look forward to throughout the following months.

That was until Haseul mentioned that Sooyoung was going to be Vivi’s maid of honour.

Any happiness Jinsol had felt immediately dried up, with that same feeling of dread taking its place in a nanosecond. Jinsol never delved into the details of the breakup with her friend, even though her devastation the following weeks gave a decent impression, but she’d figured maybe Sooyoung had told them some version of the story.

Whatever it was, Haseul seemed to assume it wouldn’t be a problem, and that three years was enough time to let bygones be bygones.

And, if it were anyone else, it probably would have been.

But with Sooyoung, Jinsol doesn’t think any length of time would be enough.

Nevertheless, Jinsol was determined to preserve Haseul’s excitement, assuring the younger woman that it wouldn’t be a problem. That she was happy to catch up with her ex-girlfriend, even. She was surprised those words left her mouth without a crack in her voice.

So, after months of planning, shopping, and worrying, the day is finally upon her.

With the knowledge that Sooyoung would be in her presence for the first time since their break-up, Jinsol knew she’d need some backup.

That is where Hyunjin, her best friend since childhood, comes in. Hyunjin had liked Sooyoung when the two were together, but ever since that fateful graduation day the brunette has done everything in her power to help Jinsol forget and move on.

If that means being her plus one to the wedding in order to provide moral support and potentially make Sooyoung jealous, then so be it.

“Attention passengers. We are approximately ten minutes away from our destination. The attendants will make their way around to collect any waste and answer any final requests. As always, thank you for choosing Vivid Rail.”

The bellowing voice of the train conductor echoes through the cabin, causing Hyunjin to momentarily lose her focus and look up from her phone, only to look back down in dismay.

“Oh, shit!” Hyunjin exclaims, staring at a 5th place finish on her screen. “Son of a bitch distracted me!”

She locks her phone in frustration before turning to look at her best friend. The anxiousness is very present on Jinsol’s face, being physically unable to contain how much she is dreading this weekend.

“Hey, look at me,” Hyunjin says, reaching over to take Jinsol’s hand in her own.

Jinsol turns, meeting Hyunjin’s eyes and finding that familiar comfort that her best friend’s presence brings.

“It’s going to be fine. You might not even be spending that much time with her. You’ll see her a few times, watch her give a terrible toast, and we’ll be out of here in no time.”

Jinsol blinks, trying her best to believe Hyunjin’s words, but only hearing “you’ll see her.”

Hyunjin sighs, understanding she’s talking to a brick wall.

“You’re doing this for Haseul and Vivi, right? Your best friends! After me, because I’m obviously number one, and I’m gonna be at your side the entire time, okay?”

At that, Jinsol nods slightly. This weekend isn’t about her, or Sooyoung. It’s about Haseul, Vivi, and their love for each other.

It’s bittersweet, when she wonders what might have been, but Jinsol knows Hyunjin is right. It’s only a few nights, how bad could it really go?

A smile finally graces the beautiful blonde’s face, and Hyunjin follows suit.

“There we go! That’s more like it. Besides, have you seen where we are?” Hyunjin asks, marvelling at the view outside the window.

Jinsol turns as well, and gasps at the gorgeous mountain landscape in front of them.

The mid July sun illuminates the mountains in their various grey and greens, valleys full of flowing cerulean blue water weaving their way between the towering giants. If Jinsol looks hard enough, she can see wildlife poking out between the neverending sea of evergreen trees.

It is quite possibly the most beautiful sight she’s ever seen, and the moment she steps out of the train cabin and onto the platform, inhaling the crisp mountain air, she swears half of her worries float up and away into the clouds.

Hyunjin huffs as she appears beside Jinsol, carrying both of their luggage since Jinsol was so quick to get out of the claustrophobic train.

“Here, thought you might need this,” Hyunjin groans as she drops Jinsol’s suitcase without care.

Jinsol scrambles to pick it up. “Hey! Their wedding gift is in here! It was super expensive so if it’s broken you’re dead.”

“Damn, no appreciation. And to think I did you a favour by coming here!” Hyunjin exclaims, the two bickering as they always do. Hyunjin never stays mad for long though, and finally being outside after a four hour train ride causes her tension to quickly escape.

Just as Jinsol is about to pull out her phone, she hears a squeal of delight a little ways down the platform.

“Jinsol! Over here!” Haseul yells with glee, the joy making the younger woman glow even more than usual.

At the sight of her college best friend, Jinsol finds herself being overwhelmed with a similar feeling. They saw each other a month or so ago when finalizing all of the details for the wedding, but being around Haseul always puts Jinsol in a good mood. Spending more time with her throughout the past few months makes her wish she hadn’t avoided her for so long.

A life with Haseul in it is certainly better than one without.

The blonde rushes over to engulf the bride to be in a hug, both laughing in excitement.

Hyunjin sighs, again having been left with both sets of luggage, and makes her way over to the giggling duo with a struggle.

“So, are you excited? Tomorrow is the big day!”

Haseul sighs, looking so in love Jinsol has to stop herself from getting too jealous.

“Of course, god I’ve been dreaming about marrying Vivi since the first moment I saw her.”

Jinsol looks skeptically at her friend. “Now we both know that is not true.”

Haseul looks up, having been wistfully daydreaming, and meets Jinsol’s eyes, before surrendering into another fit of giggles.

“Oh right, sorry that’s my automated response whenever someone asks me about the wedding. You know how uptight I thought she was at the beginning,” Haseul laughs.

Jinsol laughs as well, remembering vividly how the two danced around each other for much of their first year. It took Haseul getting asked out by another mutual friend for Vivi to finally make a move. After all of the pining, the denial, and the passive aggression came a beautiful relationship, accumulating in this stunning mountain wedding.

“Anyways, let’s get to the lodge! I still have a million and one things to do before tomorrow,” Haseul exclaims, not yet showing the stress that Jinsol was expecting to see.

Hyunjin once again arrives behind Jinsol, forcefully shoving Jinsol’s suitcase into the blonde’s hands.

“Next time, I’m going to leave it behind,” Hyunjin mumbles, to which Jinsol rolls her eyes and sticks out her tongue in response.

Hyunjin turns to face Haseul, whom she had met a few times on campus visits to Jinsol, and turns her frown into a smile.

“Haseul! Congratulations, and thanks for letting me tag along,” Hyunjin says, barely managing to get it out before Haseul envelops her in a hug of her own.

“Of course! The more the merrier!” Haseul pulls back and looks between the two of them suspiciously. “Are you sure there isn’t anything more going on between you two?”

Hyunjin laughs. “Depends who’s asking.”

Jinsol elbows Hyunjin in the ribs, closing her eyes in embarrassment. Haseul, puzzled for a moment, furrows her brow, before it evens out in realization.

“Oh, you mean Sooyoung?” she asks, cautiously.

Jinsol nods. “It’s going to be... interesting, seeing her again.” That’s putting it mildly, but any more detail and she may lose her composure, and it’s much too early for that.

Haseul takes the hint, and leads the two towards the car she’d taken to pick them up.

“Well, I don’t think she’s arrived yet, if that’s any consolation. And I’m really happy that you’re here and that you agreed to this, despite how awkward it might be for you.”

Jinsol forces her lips into a smile, fighting down the unease and anxiousness that always appears whenever the topic of conversation drifts to her ex-girlfriend. This weekend is about Haseul and Vivi, and the last thing she wants is to make it about her and her hopeless love life.

“Don’t worry about me, there is no place I’d rather be,” Jinsol reassures the bride to be, hoping the conviction in her words convinces not only Haseul, but herself as well.

Haseul sighs in relief, and the three finally enter the luxury SUV.

“Hyejoo, take us up,” Haseul asks politely.

Hyunjin looks around. “Up? What do you mean up? We’re already at the top of the mountain.”

Haseul smirks, clearly relishing the confusion and bewilderment on the two guests’ faces.

“That’s what you think,” she replies, before turning back around as the driver, presumably Hyejoo, begins their ascent up a twisting and swerving road.

The higher they get, the more Jinsol can see as her eyes are glued to the wonders outside her window. She can start to see the snowy peaks of the majestic mountains, and the air definitely starts to get a little thinner.

“Is it safe to be up this high?” Hyunjin asks, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice. The brunette’s hand had already reached over to Jinsol’s no later than two minutes into their trip, the death grip not once being surrendered.

“Absolutely! This hotel is something else, it’ll take your breath away more than the altitude will.”

Hyunjin nods, not convinced in the slightest, but Jinsol squeezes her hand in reassurance. Hyunjin has always been a little afraid of heights, and Jinsol, not for the first time, is incredibly grateful for her best friend’s neverending selflessness.

They climb and they climb, until finally, the hotel comes into view just up the road.

“There it is, the Evergreen Estate.”

Jinsol’s jaw drops, and she has to rub her eyes a few times in order to fully take in the sight out the front windshield. If she’d thought the landscape was beautiful, the building up ahead makes it’s backdrop pale in comparison.

The hotel itself is larger than the ones you’d find on the Vegas strip, floors upon floors of rooms circling the building. The designs on the exterior walls are so intricate, it looks as though years were spent making every carving just right. Two large fountains border the grand entrance, an awning reaching out with junipers creating a sort of red carpet for guests to arrive.

It’s a sight Jinsol will never forget, and as Hyejoo pulls the car into the adjacent lot, she can see how far back the hotel stretches. It would rival the size of her college football stadium, at the very least.

“We’re staying… here?” Jinsol asks, not quite believing it yet.

Haseul nods with a smirk. “Let’s just say Vivi’s family have friends in the right places.”

Jinsol scoffs in disbelief, and her and Hyunjin exit the car, looking straight up at the colossal building standing tall in front of them.

“You’ll definitely be able to hide from Sooyoung in this place,” Hyunjin mutters as she stands next to Jinsol.

Jinsol laughs. “Someone could definitely live here without anybody finding them.”

Hyunjin archs an eyebrow. “Fancy a game of hide and seek?”

With narrowed eyes, Jinsol turns to grab her suitcase, not wanting Hyunjin’s wrath bestowed upon her once more.

“You’re on.”

Hyunjin smiles, her eyes glinting with mischief. “You hide, and I’ll find you, because we both know how terrible of a seeker you are.”

Jinsol rolls her eyes. “You lose your friend at the carnival one time and you never hear the end of it.”

Haseul approaches to interrupt their scheming, a bellhop right behind her.

“Jiwoo can take your things to your room, if you’d like. I would give you both a tour but I still have some things to iron out before tomorrow. You’re welcome to explore though!”

The stress starts to show in Haseul’s demeanor, her voice going up an octave and her fingers start to play with the hem of her dress shirt.

Jinsol nods, a little concerned. “If you need my help with anything, just shoot me a text. Wait, is there service up here?”

Hyunjin’s eyes widen. “There better be wifi, I still have like three daily challenges to complete.”

Haseul laughs, a sight and sound Jinsol loves to hear.

“Yes to both, and thank you Jinsol. I hopefully won’t need to take you up on that, but there are still plenty of things that can go wrong.”

“And as your maid of honour it is my duty to put them right,” Jinsol replies, saluting to Haseul as if she were her captain, making Haseul laugh once more before she retreats into the building. She is immediately swarmed by what looks like a chef, a florist, and a pianist, all looking to the bride to be for assistance.

Hyunjin whistles. “Damn do I not want her job.”

Jinsol nods. “Planning every detail of your own wedding, what a nightmare. Hopefully Vivi helped a bit.”

Jiwoo clears her throat, and indicates towards the duo’s bags.

“May I take your luggage?” she asks politely.

Jinsol nods and rushes to hand the bellhop their belongings, sliding a bill into Jiwoo’s hand as she does so.

“Hey! I didn’t get a tip for carrying your heavy ass suitcase around the train station,” Hyunjin protests as Jiwoo also retreats into the hotel lobby.

Jinsol rolls her eyes again. “Just shut up and start counting. See if you can find me in this literal castle.” She looks up again in wonder, still not quite believing where she is. And to think Vivi’s family footed the bill, too.

“You have such little faith in me, I bet it won’t even take 20 minutes,” Hyunjin says, ever present cockiness dripping from her words. She closes her eyes and places her hand over them for good measure, and starts counting down from 100 without warning.

“100, 99, 98, 97…”

Jinsol’s eyes widen and she rushes past a few hotel guests and into the grand entryway of the hotel. Despite her haste, she has to stop and take in the decor, doing a few 360s to get the full scope of the lobby. The estate somehow strikes the perfect balance between modern and classic, stone lion heads counteracted by futuristic water displays, as an example.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t have much time to admire, as she vaguely hears Hyunjin’s voice spewing out numbers in the 50s, so she makes a quick dash down the corridor to her left.

She passes signs signally a pool, movie theater, game room, even a rock climbing wall, and she’s starting to wonder if this is just one massive dream.

Jinsol is so wrapped up in the wonders of the hotel that she almost runs straight into an unknowing bystander, her gaze anywhere but in front of her. She barely notices the person in her peripherals before she slams to a stop, already out of breath.

“Hey! Watch where you’re goin- oh! Jinsol!” the person says as they turn to face the blonde. Jinsol immediately recognizes the beaming smile and bright red hair, and engulfs her in a hug not dissimilar to the one she gave Haseul earlier.

“Vivi! It’s so great to see you,” Jinsol mumbles, her words muffled as Vivi’s hair is completely in her face. Vivi pulls back, and Jinsol takes the older woman in, finding the aura of sophistication and grace comfortingly familiar.

“I’ve missed you, Jinsol. You look incredible as usual,” Vivi says, her smile warm. Jinsol blushes at the compliment, she’s not the greatest at taking them, and Vivi is as charming as she is beautiful.

Jinsol has always liked Vivi. The woman was an enigma in their first year, with the other three not knowing much about her. Besides the fact that she had a horribly disguised crush on Haseul that she refused to act on, but that was more Jinsol and Sooyoung’s intuition, as Haseul remained blind as a bat. In that scenario, and others following, she let her own pride get the better of her, but for someone who grew up without a care in the world, free to act and do as she please, the red haired woman could have turned out much worse.

Vivi is kind but guarded, hesitant to trust yet one of the greatest friends Jinsol has ever had. Once again, Jinsol is left wishing she had kept a better track of her two friends as Vivi’s presence reminds her of a void she hadn’t realized was so large, the one in the shape of her ex-girlfriend taking up most of her attention.

“This place is absolutely breathtaking, how did you find it?” Jinsol asks. Haseul did mention something about Vivi’s family, but her curiosity is unending given the fairytale nature of the estate.

“One of my mother’s friends has a share in its ownership. Not even a day after word had spread of our engagement did I get an email offering up the estate, on any day of our choosing. My parents got married here, so it means a lot to me,” Vivi supplies, marvelling over the grand dining room the two have found themselves in.

People are bustling around them, waiters and chefs mumbling instructions to each other as various hotel staff set up floral arrangements around the room. Paired with the oak panelling and large chandeliers, Jinsol is sure she’s walked right into a Disney movie.

“This is actually where the reception will be held, and the rehearsal dinner tonight, you know about that right?”

Jinsol nods, but appreciates the reminder. The pit in her stomach that she’d been slightly distracted from flares up once more. Even if she manages to hide from Sooyoung until then, there’s no escaping her at the rehearsal dinner. She knows she’ll need a few more pep talks from Hyunjin before she’s ready to face the woman who has haunted her these past few years.

“Yes, I’m so excited and happy for you, Vivi. I can’t wait for the rest of this weekend.”

Vivi’s smile grows. “So am I. I love Haseul so much, I can’t wait to call her my wife.”

Jinsol’s heart wrenches in jealousy again, but to be fair, who wouldn’t be jealous of a couple as perfect as her two friends.

“Also, I’m sure Haseul has already said this, but I really want to thank you for coming. I know it might not have been the easiest decision for you in some respects, but we both love you so much and it wouldn’t have been the same without you.”

Vivi places a comforting hand on Jinsol’s bicep, and while she appreciates the sentiment, she’s starting to get sick of the pity party. Of course, it’s not like she can deny how nervous she is to see Sooyoung, but she’d have hoped that her friends would believe that she’d be able to hold herself together for the weekend.

Only time will tell if she can do just that.

Jinsol puts on a smile, knowing Vivi has only good intentions.

“You know I’ll support you two no matter what,” she replies.

“I do know. I’m sorry, I’m sure I’m worrying too much. It’s been a long time, and besides, Sooyoung told me she’s excited to see you again.”

At that, Jinsol’s eyes widen. Excited? That could mean many things.

Excited because she wants to apologize and set things straight? Excited because she missed her?

Excited because she has a new girlfriend or wife or whatever and wants to shove her happiness into Jinsol’s face?

Jinsol would hate to think it’s the last one, but her mind has often drifted there against her own will. Just because she has largely kept to her own since their breakup doesn’t mean that Sooyoung has.

Jinsol scoffs halfheartedly, causing Vivi to raise an eyebrow. But before Jinsol can reply, Vivi speaks again.

“Hey, is that Hyunjin?”

Jinsol looks around manically, cursing that she let herself be distracted. Hyunjin is such a terrible winner, and it’s barely been 10 minutes. She can’t be giving Hyunjin the win that easily.

“Where?” she asks frantically.

Vivi points down the hallway in the direction Jinsol came from, and the blonde turns to see her best friend scouring the open lobby, before her body turns to face Jinsol’s direction.

“Shit, I have to go, I’ll catch up with you later!” Jinsol yells as she’s sprinting through the mess of people in the packed dining hall, trying to make it to the other side.

Vivi only laughs, and gets swept away by onrushing staff in a similar fashion to Haseul. Jinsol notices as she’s running, and is glad to see Haseul hasn’t been left totally alone in the intense planning process.

She doesn’t take long to ponder that, though, as she reaches the opposing hallway and sprints past the largest gym she’s ever seen. If she wasn’t considering this a vacation, she may have chosen to frequent it at some point, but the running she’s currently doing is already more exercise than she’d planned for the whole weekend.

Jinsol can see another larger entryway at the end of the corridor, and as she approaches, it looks to lead out to a side garden. Looking out the window, she can see a lush sanctuary for plants and wildlife alike, birds flying around and flowers growing as they please.

She looks behind her, and when she has no sight of Hyunjin, she stops to catch her breath. It seems to be a sitting room, with one wall entirely of glass to observe the beauty just outside the door. She decides to venture out, thinking she’ll outsmart her best friend by leaving the hotel’s walls.

As Jinsol exits the building and is welcomed back into the fresh mountain air, she hears voices and music coming from nearby. She looks around, and sees a small courtyard adjacent to the garden where it looks like many of the wedding guests have gathered to socialize. And, of course, there is a bar, which Jinsol is sure she will become very well acquainted with throughout the weekend. It is on the hosts, after all.

Jinsol approaches quickly, hoping to hide in plain sight in case Hyunjin comes wandering. She spots a few other blonde heads, so she hopes she’s safe for long enough to order a drink.

She walks up to the bar and smiles at the bartender. “Can I get a vodka sprite please?”

The bartender nods, and Jinsol sits down at one of the barstools. The courtyard is illuminated with fairy lights, and despite the late afternoon sun still shining, they contribute even more to the picturesque setting of the venue. Large sculptures of stone and bush alike litter the area, and the cobblestone ground complements the bright colours of the flower decor.

The bartender returns with Jinsol’s drink, and just as she’s about to take a sip, she hears a laugh echoing from the people in front of her. So familiar, and so haunting, she struggles to maintain the grip on her glass.

Her eyes dart around, panic and fear quickly bubbling up in her chest, before her piercing gaze finally finds her.

She’s standing nearby, maybe ten feet or so, and she’s nursing her own fruity cocktail. She’s in a black dress, goes down to around knee height, but it fits her in all the ways Jinsol remembers. She’s cut her hair recently, or at least, since the last time Jinsol’s seen her.

And she’s not alone either.

A brunette is with her, giggling and blushing at something she said. They’re laughing with each other, and the brunette is definitely getting into her personal space.

It takes everything in Jinsol not to throw her drink at the two of them. She has to remind herself that she’s a better person than that, and no matter how angry and upset and hurt she is, this isn’t the time or the place.

She stands from her seat, ready to surrender to Hyunjin if it means getting out of the proximity of her ex-girlfriend.

But of course, life never seems to make it easy for Jinsol, and at the exact moment she stands up, her gaze is met by a painfully familiar pair of gorgeous brown eyes.

Jinsol’s world stands still. The onrushing tsunami of emotions that simply meeting her eyes brings is almost enough to put her right back into her seat.

The eyes she used to love so much, that she used to know so well, seem as foreign as they are familiar. Jinsol can’t recognize anything in them anymore, and that terrifies her as well as makes her heart ache for what once was.

Sooyoung smiles. It’s small, bittersweet, and maybe even a little apologetic. Like she knows exactly what’s going on in Jinsol’s head, and to her credit, she probably does.

That only makes Jinsol more angry. And that anger is doubled when the brunette in Sooyoung’s company grasps her attention once more, and it is as though Jinsol doesn’t exist anymore.

Like she never had.

Now, Jinsol is furious.

She storms out of the courtyard, right past Sooyoung and without another glance in her direction. She enters the hotel and grabs a pillow from a nearby couch, throwing it against the floor in anger.

A few hotel guests give her a strange look, and Jinsol, immediately embarrassed, rushes to place the pillow back where she found it.

Now she’s furious and is hating the fact that Sooyoung can make her act like a lunatic with one simple look. It seems as though the death grip Sooyoung had on her heart and mind is still as tight as ever, which infuriates Jinsol to no end.

But, if she had any question of the level of pettiness she was going to aspire to reach this weekend, seeing Sooyoung blatantly flirting with that brunette put it to bed.

“Ha! There you are!”

Jinsol is interrupted by the person she brought to achieve said pettiness. Hyunjin comes bounding up to her, big smile as she exaggeratedly tags Jinsol on the shoulder before checking her watch.

“Well, 25 minutes isn’t bad. This place is fucking massive, I got lost like six times.”

Jinsol doesn’t care about being caught, she’s already thinking about all of the ways she’s going to make Sooyoung jealous. She knows all of the things Sooyoung hates, all of the quirks and pet peeves from when the two were dating. 

She’s more than ready to pull out all the stops, and make sure Sooyoung leaves the estate at the end of the weekend wishing she could rewind the clock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now things gon get messy :)
> 
> follow me on twitter @lo_ells and comment your thoughts!!!


	2. the rehearsal dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

Jinsol is in the middle of fixing her earrings when the door to her and Hyunjin’s shared suite opens, and she hears a loud wolf whistle coming from her best friend’s lips as she enters the room.

“Damn, it’s almost like you’re trying to show your piece of shit ex what she’s missing!” Hyunjin exclaims, kneeling and pretending to snap pictures of the blonde like the paparazzi. “Jinsol! Over here!”

Jinsol laughs before shoving Hyunjin in the shoulder, causing the brunette to topple over, but is thankful that her best friend always seems to bring a smile to her face. Even when Jinsol feels like she’s on the warpath.

“Funny because that’s exactly what I was going for! How on Earth did you figure that one out,” Jinsol teases, turning back to the mirror.

After she’s satisfied with her earrings, she takes a step back and analyzes her appearance, a smug smile gracing her beautiful features.

She looks good. Like, really good.

The dress she chose doesn’t leave much to the imagination, cutting off around mid-thigh, maybe even a little higher, and its strapless nature shows off her shoulders, arms, and everything in between.

It’s definitely the sluttier of the two she brought for the rehearsal dinner, and despite deliberating for days on whether she’d wear it, seeing Sooyoung a few hours earlier made the decision an incredibly easy one.

Her makeup isn’t crazy, but enough to bring out her eyes and make her feel dolled up for the first time in a very long time. Her look reminds her of her college days, when the four of them would go clubbing until the early hours of the morning.

It’s good to know she can still clean up nice.

Hyunjin brushes past her, having finally returned from retrieving a soda from the closest vending machine. Except, that took her close to half an hour, having gotten lost at least three times, ending up on the complete opposite side of the estate.

“I have to get my ass in gear and make sure I look worthy enough to be The Jung Jinsol’s date,” Hyunjin teases back, searching through her suitcase for her own dress.

Jinsol smiles, a touch of evil hiding behind it. She knows the mere appearance of Hyunjin at her side will be enough to make Sooyoung’s blood start to boil, their friendship being one of those sore spots Sooyoung never seemed to get over when the two were dating.

Hyunjin had noticed Jinsol’s suddenly sour mood after the conclusion of their hide and seek game, but chose not to comment on it, knowing it likely had to do with Sooyoung. Based on the look on her best friend’s face, Hyunjin knew that whatever had happened was enough to send Jinsol into attack mode, and there was no way anything the brunette did would bring her out of that.

So, she left her alone, and the blonde spent the remaining hours of the afternoon stewing, letting the anger fester until the rehearsal dinner. Now, it’s reached the point where Jinsol doesn’t care about sparing any feelings, or even getting any answers.

Sooyoung hurt her, that’s the only thing she knows for sure. And all she’s concerned with now is trying to hurt her back, in whatever way she can.

She knows it’s petty, and she knows realistically it won’t make her feel better about their situation. But she’s seeing red in a way she never has before, and she struggles to care about any of the consequences when all that’s in her mind is the images of Sooyoung’s back leaving their college dorm and Sooyoung cuddled up next to some pretty brunette.

It doesn’t take long for Hyunjin to finish getting ready, and the two finally exit their suite, making their way to the elevators.

Honestly, Hyunjin is a little scared.

She can’t remember the last time she’s seen Jinsol’s face so emotionless, her cold demeanor incredibly foreign. She knows her friend is pissed, but she also wants Jinsol to remember they are here this weekend to have fun and celebrate Haseul and Vivi. The last thing the brides-to-be need are their maid of honours engaged in a brawl.

So, Hyunjin does what she does best.

“Hey, want to have an elevator race?”

Jinsol is brought out of her anger haze by Hyunjin’s random question, but her ears perk up at the suggestion.

“Now? We have to be down in the dining hall right away.”

Hyunjin nods eagerly. “Right, and this way we’ll be down there as fast as we can!”

Jinsol sighs. Hyunjin knows how much she loves elevator racing. They’ve played in every single hotel that they’ve been at together since they were little.

To sum up, elevator racing is when they each pick an elevator, usually the hotels they’ve stayed at have upwards of four or five, and pick a random floor. They call their elevators at the same time, and whoever makes it to the vending machine on that floor first gets to pick anything they want, and the loser has to buy.

“Are we meeting at the vending machines? We’re literally about to have dinner,” Jinsol says, already giving in to Hyunjin’s suggestion.

The brunette smiles, her plan working.

“Nah, last to make it to their assigned seat has to have three tequila shots.”

Jinsol’s eyes widen as she gasps in horror. “You monster.”

Hyunjin giggles devilishly. “Have to make things a little more interesting, don’t I?”

They approach the wall of elevators, and Jinsol counts ten lining each side of the hallway.

“Feels like we’re playing russion roulette,” the blonde murmurs.

Hyunjin does a quick scan, and moves to stand in front of the one in the furthest corner.

“I have picked my champion,” she announces loudly, to which Jinsol rolls her eyes.

The blonde looks at them all, now incredibly motivated to win this game. It is much too early to down three shots of tequila. Not only does she have a practice toast to give, but she doesn’t want to think about what she may do if she gets too hammered. Especially with her ex, and her potential new girlfriend, staying only a few floors away.

Deciding not to overcomplicate anything, Jinsol picks the one right beside Hyunjin, to which the brunette raises an eyebrow.

“Wow, bold move there, Jung.”

“What can I say, I’m feeling bold,” Jinsol responds, and hovers her finger over the button signalling down. Hyunjin quickly follows suit, and the two narrow their eyes at each other.

“3, 2, 1, GO!”

They both press their buttons at the same time, and they wait in silence as the numbers appear above the door, Hyunjin’s moving up towards their floor and Jinsol’s coming down.

“Shit, yours will be here first,” Hyunjin moans, while Jinsol smiles triumphantly.

“You know I always win at this game, my luck is unmatched.”

Jinsol’s elevator arrives with a ding, and as soon as the doors open to reveal the cab, that statement leaves an incredibly bitter taste in her mouth.

Sooyoung is leaning against the back wall, too preoccupied with something on her phone to notice the two women completely shell shocked in the hallway.

Jinsol looks towards Hyunjin, panicked and completely unprepared to be stuck in a confined space with her ex-girlfriend. The way she specifically detailed how the events of tonight would play out did not account for this, and she’s starting to freak out.

Hyunjin starts to laugh silently, the irony of this situation too much for her to handle. Jinsol wants to smack her, but mouths a cry for help instead, which only makes Hyunjin laugh more.

Jinsol is about to turn around and run away when a smooth, silky voice echoes through the silent elevator lobby.

“Jinsol?”

The woman in question freezes, Hyunjin having to cover her mouth. The brunette is just out of view, and while the situation is funny, Hyunjin knows Jinsol needs a little extra boost in order to not crumble in her own anxiety.

Before Jinsol can say anything, Hyunjin starts to speak.

“Oh shit, I forgot my phone in the room. I’ll meet you down there, okay babe?” Hyunjin says, moving to place a hand on Jinsol’s waist before leaving a kiss on her cheek.

Sooyoung’s eyes move from Jinsol’s shocked face to Hyunjin’s smug one, and her jaw locks as her eyes narrow.

Jinsol sighs, mostly in relief, and she quickly gains back her composure as Hyunjin retreats back down the hallway, leaving the two women in an intense staring contest.

Sooyoung’s eyebrow arches. “Are you getting in?” she asks, impatiently.

Jinsol rolls her eyes. So that’s how it’s going to be.

She smiles, tight lipped and clearly fake, before entering the elevator cab and standing as close to the front as possible, her back to Sooyoung as they begin their descent.

“I see you two are still close,” Sooyoung murmurs, breaking the incredibly tense silence as Jinsol watches the many floors pass by. The blonde curses the fact that Haseul put them up near the top, the ride passing by at a snail’s pace.

At Sooyoung’s statement, Jinsol smiles knowingly, out of sight of her seemingly rattled ex-girlfriend. It certainly hasn’t taken long for her plan to take shape.

“Yeah, closer than ever, actually,” she replies casually. She can hear the frustrated sigh from behind her, and she has to hold in her chuckle.

“I see.”

The silence returns, even more tense than before. Jinsol relishes it, knowing Sooyoung is fuming behind her.

Finally, the elevator dings, and the doors open to reveal the ground floor lobby. Jinsol turns, meeting the brunette’s eyes.

“It’s nice to see you again,” she says, before exiting the elevator, walking with a purpose with the knowledge that Sooyoung is watching her every move. As soon as she turns the corner towards the dining hall, she leans up against a nearby wall and exhales heavily.

How she managed to keep her composure that well is beyond her, but the fun is just getting started. The night has only just begun after all.

Jinsol weaves her way through the bustle of people and approaches the dining hall. In just a few short hours, it has been transformed into a space reminiscent of an up-scale nightclub. The modern furniture surprisingly doesn’t look out of place with the rustic frame of the room, both high and regular tables littering the floor.

What is lacking is a dance floor, which gives Jinsol the impression that this setup is not the one to be used tomorrow, for the actual reception. Just another indication of the wealth on display from Vivi’s family. Jinsol is starting to think she fell for the wrong woman.

Jinsol scans the room, trying to find Table 1. Being the maid of honour, she gets one of the best seats in the house, and Haseul fortunately let Hyunjin accompany her, despite not having as close of a link to either bride.

She finally lays eyes on her table, and her jaw drops when she finds Hyunjin already situated at it, a devilish grin sporting her features. Jinsol can’t believe it, her best friend must be some sort of witch.

“How the hell did you beat me?” Jinsol demands after storming over to the table with purpose.

Hyunjin smiles coyly. “I will never reveal my secrets.”

Jinsol rolls her eyes. “So you’re telling me I just endured an elevator ride with Sooyoung for nothing?”

“Not nothing, you get to have three tequila shots!” Hyunjin exclaims with glee, picking them up from the table and handing them to Jinsol.

“You even had time to order these? God I hate you sometimes,” Jinsol mumbles, before downing all three in a matter of seconds.

Hyunjin hoops and hollers, standing up to slap Jinsol on the back.

“That’s my girl! Who knows, maybe we’ll get a return of college drunk Jinsol tonight.”

Jinsol, already feeling the effects of the alcohol, grabs onto the chair in front of her for support.

“If the night continues the way it is, those will definitely be the first of many.”

Hyunjin excuses herself to go to the bathroom, and as she’s regaining her bearings, Jinsol looks to their table and counts the chairs. Their table is right at the front, of course, forming a sort of semi-circle with Haseul and Vivi’s seats in the middle, facing their friends and family.

Her brow furrows when she finishes counting.

“Five chairs?” Jinsol mutters, moving around to check the name on the final seat with the grace of a toddler learning to walk. She reminds herself to order a glass of water as fast as possible.

She’s not surprised to read Sooyoung’s name, expecting to be at the same table as the other maid of honour. What is surprising to her, however, is that there is no sixth chair.

Did Sooyoung not bring a date? Then who was that brunette she was quite clearly flirting with earlier in the day?

Jinsol doesn’t have much time to ponder the question as she is once again engulfed in the warm embrace of a certain short-haired brunette.

“Jinsol! My god, you look stunning! Don’t tell Vivi but we should totally ditch this place and run off together,” Haseul jokes, grinning as she always is. Jinsol quickly realizes she is not alone in her slightly intoxicated state, Haseul nursing what Jinsol is sure is not her first margarita.

Haseul leaves an arm around Jinsol’s waist, slightly leaning into the taller blonde. Jinsol is quickly reminded of all of their nights out during college, Haseul’s flirtiness multiplying after a few sips of alcohol.

Vivi, luckily, isn’t far behind, so Jinsol transfers the shorter brunette over to her fiance without Haseul even realizing.

“This will definitely be her last of the night,” Vivi assures, answering Jinsol’s unasked question. “She seems to always forget how much of a lightweight she is, it’s barely eight p.m.”

Despite her teasing tone, Vivi looks down at the drunken woman in her arms with a love that Jinsol has only ever seen in a few couples, and leans down to kiss Haseul sweetly. Jinsol’s heart wrenches at the scene, she’s always been the biggest sucker for a good love story.

A blonde woman quickly approaches the trio, a camera hanging around her neck and a beaming smile on her face.

“Haseul! Vivi! Is this one of your maid of honours?”

Vivi nods. “Yes. Chaewon, this is Jinsol, Haseul’s maid of honour. Jinsol, this is our wedding photographer, Park Chaewon. She’s one of the best in the business.”

Chaewon blushes, her attention quickly moving to someone else approaching behind Jinsol before she can accept the compliment.

“And there is Sooyoung, perfect! I was hoping to get some shots of the four of you.”

Jinsol’s blood runs cold as she can feel her ex-girlfriend’s presence directly behind her. She keeps her nerve, though, not wanting to show weakness. She feels ridiculous, and sort of like she’s back in high school with how petty she is acting, but the rigid scowl on Sooyoung’s face makes the effort well worth it.

Haseul gasps. “That sounds amazing! Great idea, Chaewon,” she exclaims, bringing the younger blonde into a hug of her own, which the photographer was not expecting one bit.

“Um, you’re welcome?” Chaewon manages to cough out before Vivi pulls Haseul back into her own arms.

Chaewon escorts the four to the large glass wall at the back of the room, the courtyard and the setting sun creating a beautiful backdrop. She moves them around so that Vivi and Haseul stand in the middle, their respective maid of honours on each side.

Jinsol is thankful that she’s as far away from Sooyoung as she can be, and puts on her best smile as Chaewon takes pictures from a multitude of angles. She even hops on a chair, and Jinsol feels sorry for whoever’s seat now has small footprints on it.

“Now, how about just the happy couple!”

Jinsol and Sooyoung retreat out of frame, facing each other on opposite sides of Chaewon. Jinsol keeps her gaze firmly on the couple, even though she can feel Sooyoung’s eyes boring into the side of her face.

Haseul and Vivi look as gorgeous as ever, and Jinsol is surprised at how well Haseul can pull herself together for the picture, only to melt into Vivi’s arms immediately after the flash goes off.

“Let’s get a few of just the maid of honours!”

Of course. Jinsol stops herself from rolling her eyes, reminding herself once again that this is all for Haseul and Vivi.

She and Sooyoung make their way into the frame, reluctant to get too close to each other. The tension between them could be cut with a knife.

“Sooyoung, can you wrap your arm around Jinsol’s waist? Don’t be shy!” Chaewon asks politely, not at all aware of the history between the two women.

Sooyoung wastes no time, pulling Jinsol closer with perhaps a little more force than necessary. Jinsol, surprisingly, doesn’t mind it, even though she probably should. She always found the possessiveness a little attractive, to a certain degree.

They smile as Chaewon takes a few pictures, changing sides a few times.

“I hope your girlfriend doesn’t get jealous,” Sooyoung mutters through her teeth. She pulls Jinsol a little closer with that statement, and Jinsol finds the smile on her face much more natural than the previous ones.

“She’s not really the jealous type, actually. Have to admit it’s a little refreshing,” Jinsol replies, just as Chaewon declares she’s got enough to work with.

Sooyoung turns to meet her gaze, the fire in the brunette’s eyes growing by the second.

As if the timing couldn’t get any better, Hyunjin appears by Jinsol’s side, taking the exact position Sooyoung had occupied only moments ago.

“Want to go mingle?” Hyunjin asks Jinsol, already pulling her away from Sooyoung’s seething presence.

Jinsol nods before turning to look in Sooyoung’s direction one last time, shooting her a wink as the perceived couple moves to make their rounds through the dining hall.

The blonde can’t remember how many people she talked to, from old college friends to extended families of the bride, but Hyunjin was right beside her the entire time. And where the two went, Sooyoung seemed to be just behind them, and Jinsol never once felt her ex’s gaze move from her and Hyunjin’s interlocked hands.

The comments the two would receive about how beautiful of a couple they make definitely only added fuel to the fire, and Jinsol can recall a number of times that she saw Sooyoung down a gin and tonic, her drink of choice, in one go.

Not that Jinsol was any better, herself having at least three vodka sprites by the time they all sit down for dinner. She feels at least on Haseul’s level from earlier, and when she looks at the brunette, it’s reassuring to see that she doesn’t seem any more intoxicated.

“I’m so hungry, I’ve been dreaming about this steak for days,” Hyunjin says as she sits down, already grabbing her fork and knife to prepare herself.

Sooyoung scoffs, drawing the attention of the table towards herself. She looks between her tablemates, before landing her eyes on Hyunjin, narrowing them.

“Red meat isn’t very good for you, you know,” is what she supplies under the eyes of the other four.

Hyunjin shrugs, not falling for Sooyoung’s bait. She knows the brunette wants a fight, a way to let out her frustration, but Hyunjin couldn’t care less.

“Oh well, to each their own. I’d happily die at 50 if I could have steak every day for the rest of my life.”

Vivi raises her glass in Hyunjin’s direction.

“Amen to that.”

Before the atmosphere can get any more tense, the meals arrive. Jinsol had chosen the chicken, anticipating the steak tomorrow. Sooyoung had chosen similarly, while the other three dig into their steaks with vigour.

“I think tonight has gone pretty well,” Haseul surmises, mouth full of beef.

Vivi reaches over to wipe a bit of sauce off of Haseul’s chin, nodding as she does so.

“Jinsol and Hyunjin, you guys seem to have made quite the impression. I got asked by at least three of my family members to extend the invitation to a few of our various vacation homes.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widen in excitement, and Jinsol chuckles to herself. The night could not be going any better.

Haseul announces to the room that the toasts will be delivered shortly, so Jinsol takes the opportunity to run to the washroom.

She cannot contain the grin on her face, and as she’s washing her hands, she looks at herself in the mirror and laughs at her own smugness. Considering how much she’s been dreading this weekend, things aren’t going too badly for her.

That is, until she’s on her way back to the table, and Sooyoung somehow materializes in front of her. Jinsol jumps in surprise.

“What do you want?” Jinsol demands.

“Follow me,” is all she receives in response, Sooyoung turning on her heels and stomping down the lowly lit hallway.

Jinsol knows she shouldn’t follow her, thinking about all of the ways in which an encounter with her ex-girlfriend can go horribly wrong. And she continues to think about them as she follows said ex-girlfriend with haste, her feet not caring about what her brain is telling her.

Maybe she’s still a little whipped, despite everything.

Sooyoung leads them down a few turns to a door, and before Jinsol knows it, she’s inside a storage closet, less than a metre away from Sooyoung. She’s backed up against the door, trying to put as much distance as she can from the infuriated woman in front of her.

“Is this really necessary?” Jinsol asks, not entirely surprised that even the storage closet is kept looking nice, as if the hotel staff know it is bound to be frequented by hotel guests.

“I don’t appreciate what you’re doing,” Sooyoung says, gaze hard and cold as she stares straight through Jinsol, avoiding the question entirely. The blonde is now feeling a little nervous, her cool finally starting to waiver a little.

“I’m not sure what you’re implying,” Jinsol replies, focusing her gaze anywhere but the brown eyes in front of her.

Sooyoung scoffs. “Bullshit. It isn’t working, either.”

“What isn’t working, Sooyoung?” Jinsol says, the smile returning to her face at Sooyoung’s blatant lie. She hasn’t seen flustered Sooyoung often, but it is quite the sight considering how calm she usually presents.

“The whole ‘you and Hyunjin’ thing. Like, I don’t even give a shit.”

Jinsol is pretty sure Sooyoung knows she isn’t convincing anybody, but the blonde admires her determination.

“Sure you don’t.”

Sooyoung takes a step closer, still a few paces away from Jinsol in the surprisingly spacious closet.

“I don’t,” the brunette insists, before pausing and looking at her feet, unsure whether to continue. “I lost the right to a long time ago.”

At that admission, the atmosphere changes. A whole new kind of tension settles between the two women, Sooyoung, who was angry before, now seems, guilty? That’s how Jinsol would place it, but she doesn’t quite know the woman in front of her anymore.

Jinsol sighs, unsure if now is the right time to open this can of worms. But Sooyoung doesn’t open up often, one of the main issues Jinsol had often faced during their relationship, so she isn’t sure if she’ll get the opportunity again.

Maybe she can finally get a bit of closure?

Jinsol opens her mouth to speak, but what she had planned to say is not at all what actually comes out.

“Hyunjin isn’t my girlfriend.”

Sooyoung’s eyes snap up to look at Jinsol’s once more, anger quickly making its return after being briefly overtaken.

“She isn’t?”

Jinsol shakes her head, and Sooyoung takes another step. If Jinsol wanted to, she could reach out and grip Sooyoung’s hand.

“So you lied?” Sooyoung says, a bit of a smirk beginning to show, but the anger still very much present. “To try and make me jealous?”

Jinsol rolls her eyes. “I didn’t lie, you thought what you wanted to think.”

Sooyoung huffs out in frustration, shaking her head as she does so.

“It’s quite the plan, I’ll give you that. Seems like a lot of work just to piss me off, though.”

Jinsol looks her ex-girlfriend up and down, and another motive to her actions is suddenly brought to her attention. Maybe one that was buried in her subconscious, but seeing Sooyoung standing angry in front of her, breaths deep and scowl permanent, she’s reminded of how sexy the brunette is when she’s angry.

Suddenly, Jinsol’s thoughts have turned to an entirely different matter.

“True, but it’s definitely been worth the effort,” she replies, a cheeky smile on her face, knowing that will only stir the pot.

Sooyoung almost gruffs in annoyance, and takes a step closer to Jinsol, placing a hand on the door right next to Jinsol’s head.

“You think you’re so clever, don’t you?”

Jinsol just nods, smile growing. Sooyoung is waiting. Waiting for Jinsol to make the move, or a hint that Jinsol wants her to. To her credit, Sooyoung has never acted without permission.

“I know I am. For example, I know how much you want to kiss me right now.”

Sooyoung freezes, the words taking her in utter shock.

Jinsol knows how much of a terrible idea this is, and is ignoring every fibre of her being that is telling her to walk out of this closet and forget this whole thing ever happened. She can’t fall back into the trap that is Ha Sooyoung, not considering she barely escaped the last time, if that.

But she wants this, more than she should, and the only thing she is questioning at this moment is if Sooyoung is as good of a kisser as she used to be. She can smell the alcohol in Sooyoung’s breath, and knows her own is probably similar, so at least she has an excuse to fall back on when this comes back to bite her.

And as Sooyoung inches her way closer, to the point that Jinsol can feel the brunette’s breath on her lips, she’s sure the moment will be worth the repercussions.

Everyone hooks up with their ex at least once, right?

“Can I?” Sooyoung asks, her eyes trained on Jinsol’s lips as she moves her other hand to grip Jinsol’s waist.

Jinsol nods, already closing her eyes in preparation. She’s left waiting longer than she would like, and when she opens an eye in confusion, she’s met with Sooyoung’s smirking face.

“Eager, aren’t we?” the brunette teases, chuckling to herself.

Jinsol rolls her eyes, and moves to grip the door handle, pretending to leave as if she is in any state to do so. But she isn’t allowed to move far, as Sooyoung’s hand envelops her own, bringing her back into their previous position.

This time, Sooyoung has learned her lesson, and she doesn’t waste any time connecting their lips, causing Jinsol to exhale the breath she had been holding for what seems like forever, but is probably closer to about three years.

It’s so familiar, in all the ways Jinsol loves. Their lips move together like they used to, with an intensity and passion that is reminiscent of their early days as a couple where they could barely keep their hands off of each other.

Jinsol moves both of her hands to Sooyoung’s face, pulling at the hairs on the back of her neck like she knows she likes. She gets the reaction she wants as a moan escapes from Sooyoung’s lips.

As Jinsol’s lips curve into a smile, Sooyoung takes the opportunity to stick her tongue into Jinsol’s mouth and slide a leg between the blonde’s. She was never one to relinquish the upper hand for too long.

Jinsol can’t hold back the moan in response, and whines when Sooyoung disconnects their lips. Sooyoung laughs, before moving to Jinsol’s neck, definitely leaving a mark or two, to Jinsol’s both annoyance and pleasure.

Quick hands bring Sooyoung’s lips back to Jinsol’s own, and Jinsol begins to lose track of time, feeling like she’s drowning in the soft lips and firm hands of her ex-girlfriend. She’s about a second away from stripping off her dress when Sooyoung’s phone rings from the pocket of her dress pants.

Sooyoung pulls away, still close enough to rest her forehead on Jinsol’s, and the two stare at each other while the room echoes with the generic Apple ringtone and their heavy breathing.

“You gonna get that?” Jinsol demands, incredibly annoyed at the interruption. She can feel how red her face is and that heat has definitely made its way throughout her entire body.

Sooyoung nods as she retreats a step, somehow collecting herself enough to answer the phone as if she hadn’t just had her tongue down Jinsol’s throat.

“Hey Haseul. Yeah, we just got a bit lost. Okay, be right there.”

Jinsol moves from her position of blocking the door, and reaches onto a nearby shelf for a bit of support, her legs incredibly weak.

When she looks up, she sees Sooyoung’s hair already fixed, her breath already even, and her hand already reaching for the closet door. As she’s about to exit, she turns to shoot Jinsol a quick wink, and she’s gone in the blink of an eye.

The overwhelming sense of dejavu is impossible to ignore, albeit the circumstances are quite different. But, Jinsol feels the same feelings of betrayal, hurt, and anger from the last time Sooyoung walked out on her.

Jinsol huffs, mostly angry at herself for letting her nerve slip, and going right back to what hurt her so badly. You’d think she’d have learned the first time.

She composes herself, and tries to bring her attention to the fact that she’s likely just been summoned to stand and speak in front of hundreds of people when her face is tomato red and she has sweat perspiring on her forehead. She doesn’t think this closet gets air conditioning. 

Quickly, Jinsol makes her way out of the closet and back to her table, managing to find her way back in decent time considering she had no idea where she was.

Hyunjin gives her a puzzling look as she takes her seat, clearly having noticed Jinsol’s change in appearance and demeanor. The brunette looks between the two culprits and sighs, knowingly.

“You have some lipstick on your neck,” Hyunjin whispers, causing Jinsol to hurriedly wipe at her neck before any prying eyes take notice. She catches Sooyoung’s smug grin as she does so, and that fire flames bright again, symbolizing both anger and lust in equal amounts. Jinsol hates that she finds the cockiness sexy.

“Finally, our two maid of honours have rejoined us,” Haseul says to the table, the stress that had appeared in Jinsol’s absence subsiding slightly. “Which one of you would like to go first?”

Sooyoung doesn’t wait for Jinsol to respond, standing up herself and clinking her glass with her spoon lightly and with immense grace.

“Good evening, everyone. I am Ha Sooyoung, the woman lucky enough to be Vivi’s maid of honour,” she begins, an elegant smile on her features as she addresses the room with her natural charm.

Jinsol is livid. It is like what had happened mere moments earlier, something that seems to Jinsol like it should be a big deal, hasn’t phased Sooyoung at all. Was it just some random encounter for her?

Not only that, Jinsol is starting to think she’s lost her touch if Sooyoung isn’t at least a little flustered. Jinsol feels like she’s going to explode from the tension in her stomach, and if she didn’t have such good self-restraint she would have kept Sooyoung in that closet for as long as it took, rehearsal dinner be damned.

“This would be the point in the evening where I would give my phenomenal toast, capturing the hearts of all of you with my impeccable humour and dazzling smile,” Sooyoung says, causing a fair few laughs from the audience, as well as a few sighs of admiration. Jinsol rolls her eyes, as if she hasn’t fallen for those same two qualities more times than she can count.

“I’ll save my best work for tomorrow, but I’ll leave you all with the knowledge that we will be witnessing the climax of the greatest love story I have had the pleasure of watching. There aren’t two people more deserving of the happiest of endings than our two beautiful brides, and two of my best friends.”

Sooyoung pauses, raising her glass to commence the toast. “To Haseul and Vivi, and what I’m sure will be a lifetime full of happy endings.”

The sounds of clinking glasses echo in Jinsol’s ears as she watches Sooyoung take her seat, her smug smile returning when she meets Jinsol’s gaze. The brunette takes a sip of her champagne with one hand, and signals for Jinsol to stand with the other, silently asking her to follow that up.

The anger coursing through her veins, Jinsol stands, glad to find that she’s sobered up slightly. At least she doesn’t have to worry about slurring her words in front of all of the wedding attendees.

However, the fact that she’s seething with rage and incredibly sexually frustrated, the cause of both those feelings sitting right in front of her, isn’t going to do her any favours either.

“H-hello,” Jinsol starts, pausing to clear her throat as her voice went up an octave or two on the second syllable. “I’m Jung Jinsol, the other maid of honour. Haseul’s, Haseul’s maid of honour.”

She’s already stumbling over her words, and she feels Hyunjin’s caring gaze on her. She tries her best to focus on that, and not the gaze coming from the other side of the table.

“It truly is an honour to be here, to see these two amazing women get married,” Jinsol says, with a little more conviction. She looks to Haseul and Vivi, their smiles comforting.

“Amazing doesn’t quite do them justice, though. They are two of the best people I know, and they complement each other in every way.”

Vivi leans over to kiss Haseul on the cheek, and Haseul rests her head on Vivi’s shoulder.

Getting a little too confident, Jinsol looks to Sooyoung, and she’s surprised to find the smug smile gone without a trace. Instead, Sooyoung is staring straight at her, before her fiery eyes look her up and down for what has to be the fiftieth time in the night.

This time, though, it hits a little different, and Jinsol has to hold in the gasp that threatens to escape her mouth.

“Uh, um,” she stammers, annoyed not only that Sooyoung is trying to mess with her, but that it’s actually working. Sooyoung is at least five feet away and yet Jinsol is one wrong move away from jumping over the table.

It is only then that it occurs to Jinsol that maybe this was Sooyoung’s intention all along. That this is payback for making her jealous with Hyunjin. They used to do this often as a couple, play pranks on each other, mess with each other, the two being as competitive as they are.

Now, however, is not the time or the place to be keeping score.

Jinsol huffs, wanting nothing more than to be anywhere else in the world but in Sooyoung’s presence.

So, she lifts her champagne glass.

“To Haseul and Vivi, who have perfected the art of being in love.”

Jinsol’s glass barely hits the table before she turns on her heel and heads for the exit. She doesn’t even give Sooyoung another glance, wanting to erase the brunette’s stupid face from her memory.

She doesn’t know what she was thinking, and why she let her brain be fooled into thinking maybe something had changed. No, Sooyoung is still the same Sooyoung from before. And that Sooyoung hurt her too much to be forgiven and forgotten, not without an apology at least.

As Jinsol is waiting for the elevator to bring her up into the sanctity of her room, she feels Hyunjin slide up beside her and takes her hand into her own. The comforting warmth immediately makes Jinsol’s shoulders untense, and she lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Hyunjin asks, putting no pressure on her best friend.

Jinsol sighs, knowing Hyunjin will go ballistic if she hears about what happened.

“Not really, you probably don’t want to know and I’m not really in the mood for a life lesson,” is what she replies, keeping her gaze on the ticking numbers as the elevator makes its way to the ground floor.

Hyunjin nods, putting a few of the pieces together herself, and not being entirely surprised. She doubts that will be the last encounter of the weekend.

“Hey, I saw that High School Musical was on pay-per-view. Want to order some ice cream and watch it?”

Jinsol smiles, wondering where on earth she’d be without her best friend.

“Sure, but I call being Sharpay.”

Hyunjin scoffs. “You know I’m always Ryan. No need to argue.”

Jinsol giggles, and the thoughts of Sooyoung vanish for the rest of the evening, her time spent eating her weight in sugary sweets and belting her heart out to Bop to the Top.

It isn’t until they call it a night, and she’s laying in bed with her eyes trained on the ceiling, that she realizes how much she is dreading the next day.

Jinsol can hear Hyunjin snoring softly beside her, but she hasn’t been able to follow her friend into the solitude of sleep. She’s been tossing and turning for at least an hour.

She knows she’s going to be spending almost the entire day with Sooyoung. She wonders if Sooyoung is going to just pretend nothing happened. That’s her best guess, since her ex-girlfriend seemed to always be allergic to talking about her feelings, or anything real.

Jinsol often had to pry information out of her, which made it incredibly hard on the blonde at times, since she never quite knew where Sooyoung’s head was at. She always seemed to be holding back, giving Jinsol almost everything she could, but not quite enough.

Jinsol isn’t sure what tomorrow will bring, but she can feel her anxiety levels skyrocketing at the thought. She doesn’t want any more games, she’s done pretending like Sooyoung didn’t hurt her more than she’s ever been hurt before.

Just as she can feel the tears starting to fall, her phone begins to ring.

Jinsol quickly jumps from her bed, and picks up before the loud noise can wake up Hyunjin. Nobody wants to see her when she’s rudely awoken.

Jinsol barely registers Haseul’s contact name before she picks up the phone, and she’s immediately met with sniffling on the other end.

“Haseul? Are you okay?” Jinsol asks, already rushing to put on a hoodie and sweatpants.

“C-can you come here?” Haseul whispers, her breathing shaky. Jinsol can count on one hand the number of times she’s seen Haseul cry, and she’s halfway out the door before she remembers to answer.

“Of course, what’s your room number? I’ll be there right away.”

After receiving the number, Haseul’s room being on the very top floor, Jinsol makes the immediate decision to take the stairs, thinking that waiting for the elevator will take much too long.

She is two floors up when she realizes she is much too unfit for that, and spends the elevator ride up the other five floors trying to restore oxygen to her brain.

She sprints down the hallway, reaching the end before she realizes she ran straight past Haseul’s room, and knocks on the door with an exasperated huff.

Haseul immediately opens the door, and the sight makes Jinsol’s heart sink. The brunette’s eyes are puffy from crying, and the tears have made her hair stick to her cheeks.

Jinsol immediately takes the smaller woman into her arms, and feeling Haseul’s body wracked with sobs, she leads the two onto Haseul’s bed.

If one of her closest friends wasn’t breaking down in her arms, Jinsol would take the time to marvel not only the luxury of Haseul’s suite, but the view outside of it. Haseul has her own private balcony, it’s size rivalling Jinsol’s first apartment after college.

They stay seated for a while, and Jinsol waits until Haseul’s gut-wrenching sobs are replaced with small whimpers.

“Haseul, what’s wrong?” Jinsol asks cautiously. This is the eve of the happiest day of her life, and Jinsol remembers her being in the highest of spirits only hours ago.

Haseul sighs, looking down into her lap as she fiddles with the engagement ring on her finger.

“Am I making the right decision?”

Jinsol almost doesn’t hear it, but her brow furrows at the vagueness of Haseul’s question.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“With Vivi. She’s who I’m meant to be with, right?”

Jinsol’s eyes bug out of her head. She’s never once heard either Vivi or Haseul doubt the integrity of their relationship. And for good reason, anyone can see how perfect the two of them are together.

“Of course she is, Haseul. Why would you think otherwise?”

Haseul shrugs, picking at her cuticles in order to avoid Jinsol’s questioning gaze.

“I don’t know… sometimes I doubt how much she loves me, or if I even deserve someone like her. I mean, look at this place! This is nothing to her, she’s used to this grand life of luxury and I just don’t know if I could fit into that.”

Jinsol moves a hand to cup Haseul’s face and brings the brunette’s eyes to her own.

“Whenever you have these doubts, what does Vivi do?” Jinsol asks.

Haseul blinks. “She tells me she loves me more than she’s ever loved anything, and she doesn’t care what kind of life we build, as long as we have each other she’ll be happy.”

Jinsol nods as a smile spreads on her face. That type of comment might have made her jealous, but not this time. It puts things into perspective for her, in a bittersweet type of way.

“Exactly. You should listen to her. It’s natural to have doubts, but she'll be there to send them away every time. She’s always committed to you, and always been honest about how she’s felt, hasn’t she?”

Haseul nods, seeming like she’s starting to be convinced.

Jinsol sighs, and tucks a bit of hair behind Haseul’s ears.

“You and Vivi are what Sooyoung and I could never be. I know you don’t want to let that slip away.”

Haseul’s eyes start to gleam again. “I really don’t.”

Jinsol smiles again, and Haseul follows suit. For Jinsol, it’s a bit of a sad smile. But, at the hope and excitement returning to Haseul’s eyes, that pain hurts a little less.

When the two lay down, Haseul exhausted from crying, sleep comes to Jinsol easier than before, the thoughts and worries about the day ahead lost somewhere along the way up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pleeeease leave a comment telling me your thoughts!! or my twitter is lo_ells i also have a cc that i forget exists but i'd love to know what y'all think!! only gonna get messier, probably
> 
> thank you for reading!!


	3. the ceremony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha let's pretend it didn't take me two months to update.... i am sorry but i promise the next (and last) chapter will be up waaaay sooner scout's honour!! hope y'all still reading this
> 
> also i don't usually listen to music while i write but i've been listening to the aces SO MUCH, mainly their "my heart felt volcanic" album bc its a banger and idk feel like some of the songs kinda relevant here so do with that what you will
> 
> hope you enjoy!!! :)

Jinsol wakes up to a squeal of delight from the woman she’s currently sharing a bed with. For a split second, the brown hair sends Jinsol into panic mode, and she wonders if she got more drunk than she’d thought before she catches a slight glimpse of Haseul’s beaming face as the younger woman throws herself onto Jinsol’s limp body.

“I’M GETTING MARRIED TODAY!” is what is screamed loudly into Jinsol’s ears, and she’s sure they will be ringing for at least the next hour.

“Oh my god I’m getting married today.”

“Haseul? I can’t breathe,” Jinsol manages to squeak out, and Haseul jumps off of the bed and starts dancing around the room. Jinsol isn’t even sure the bride heard her request.

“I cannot believe it! I’ve been looking forward to this day for so long,” Haseul sighs dreamily, and Jinsol is relieved to see no trace of the intense worry from the night before.

“Today is going to be wonderful,” Jinsol replies, putting on her best smile and ignoring her own intense worry about the day ahead. “You’re getting married today.”

Haseul squeals and dances around again, and this time, Jinsol joins her.

She takes her cue to leave when Haseul’s family floods the bridal suite, the stylists not far behind. Jinsol hurriedly makes her way back to her and Hyunjin’s shared suite, the events of the day prior only now starting to fully materialize in her mind. She sighs loudly and shakes her head at herself as she descends in the elevator.

What the hell was she thinking?

How could she let herself fall into Sooyoung’s trap so easily?

As Jinsol approaches their suite door, she remembers she didn’t bring anything up with Hyunjin last night, choosing instead to ignore her problems rather than talk about them. This time, though, she thinks she may need her friend’s rational head and sound advice.

She unlocks the door with her keycard and opens it, revealing a sight that has become more than common in her and Hyunjin’s lifetime of friendship.

Hyunjin, spewn across the bed, head hanging off of one side and feet off the other, mouth wide open, and sound asleep.

Jinsol smiles, the opportunity in front of her too good to pass up. She takes a couple steps in retreat before bounding towards the bed, landing square on the sleeping brunette.

A very loud groan is what she gets in response, Hyunjin barely moving an inch as she throws the nearest blanket over her head.

“Five more minutes.”

Jinsol glances at the bedside table, eyes trained on the clock.

“It’s like 9:30. We don’t have long before we have to start getting ready for the ceremony, and we both know you’re going to need a good breakfast.”

It’s quiet for a moment, but Hyunjin grunts and concedes, slowly rising to sit up and reveal her mess of bedhead.

“Fine. I want pancakes.”

They quickly order room service, and Jinsol is quite clearly agitated. It takes a little bit for Hyunjin to notice, she is still waking up after all, but the brunette recognizes the look on the blonde’s face. She has some things she wants to talk about.

“Alright, what happened with you and Sooyoung yesterday.”

Jinsol quickly turns her attention from the reality show on their TV to Hyunjin’s accusatory face. Not accusatory in a bad way, but in a way that lets Jinsol know her friend won’t rest until she’s spilled.

So, Jinsol sighs, taking the opportunity to spill her worries.

“We may or may not have made out in a storage closet,” she admits, meekly.

Hyunjin rolls her eyes. “God, that is so cliche.”

Jinsol grabs the nearest pillow and throws it at Hyunjin’s head.

“I know! I felt like such an idiot, but I really couldn’t help it. She just has this way of pulling me in and making me forget all common sense. I don’t know how she does it, but the minute she enters the room it’s like… nothing else matters.”

Jinsol’s eyes turn to the view outside their suite. It’s not quite as grand as the one from Haseul’s room a couple of floors up, but it isn’t anything to complain about. Based on the unfiltered rays of the sun shining into their suite, the ceremony should be blessed with perfect weather.

“It felt like it used to be, the dancing around and the games, but it felt different too. I think we’re both different people now and, I don’t know, for some reason I get the feeling like she’s changed, somehow.”

Jinsol scoffs. “Then again, she did leave me in that same storage closet and proceeded to pretend like nothing happened so who knows. Maybe she still doesn’t give a shit about anything real.”

Hyunjin sighs, shaking her head. She knew Sooyoung well enough, the two occasionally meeting up without Jinsol for coffee or dinner. Hyunjin had to make sure her best friend hadn’t fallen for a serial killer or something.

From the moment they met, Hyunjin pegged Sooyoung spot on. Confident but selfish, caring but guarded, the kind to pull you in but run away when things got real. But, to Hyunjin, Jinsol seemed to be the exception for Sooyoung. The one who finally made Sooyoung decide that maybe she had found someone worth sticking around for. That was, of course, until she left.

But despite that, Hyunjin doesn’t think that Sooyoung is a bad person. Or that she wanted to hurt Jinsol, despite doing so.

Hyunjin only wants the best for Jinsol, and even though there are many signs that point otherwise, she thinks Sooyoung could still be that.

“What do you want?” Hyunjin asks cautiously.

Jinsol sighs, fiddling with the hem of her pajama shirt.

“Seeing her yesterday, it brought back a lot of the hurt. It reminded me of how devastated I was when she left, and how long it took me to recover from that, but I was also reminded of how good everything was when we were together.”

The memories of the two of them, the happiest moments of Jinsol’s life, are suddenly brought to her, and she can’t help but smile as she reminisces.

“I know I want to talk to her about everything. Have an honest conversation about why she left and let her know how her decision affected me.”

Hyunjin nods, agreeing that Jinsol is definitely in need of some closure.

“After that? I’m honestly not sure, I don’t even know if she’ll give me that. And if she doesn’t, then I’ll know I never meant anything to her and I guess I can move on with my life.”

Jinsol pauses, unsure if she should admit this next part.

“But if she does, if she is fully honest with me like she never was when we were together, I don’t know. Maybe she’s changed since I knew her and… maybe things could be different.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widen, and she arches an eyebrow at her best friend.

“As in…?”

“Don’t make me say it, it’s already pathetic enough that the thought is even crossing my mind,” Jinsol groans, grabbing another pillow, but this one is used to cover her face as she screams into it.

Hyunjin chuckles softly, moving to pat Jinsol’s blonde head.

“Listen, just take it one step at a time. Make it clear that you don’t want any more games, and it’s up to her whether or not she wants to reach out. And in the meantime, try not to get carried away with thoughts about anything related to her, okay? Today is about Haseul and Vivi, stay focused on them.”

Jinsol looks up and meets Hyunjin’s caring gaze, and she feels a wave of calm wash over her. She really should have done this yesterday, talking with Hyunjin always puts her in a better frame of mind. At least the anxiety has dwelled slightly, and the idea of spending the large part of the day on Sooyoung’s side doesn’t make her want to run for the hills.

“Okay. Thank you, Hyun. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

Hyunjin laughs, moving to recline on their bed and focus her attention back to the TV.

“It wouldn’t look good for you, I”ll say that.”

Not long after, they’ve filled their stomachs and dolled themselves up, and it’s around 11 when Jinsol’s phone rings for the first time that day, and it definitely won’t be the last.

“Jinsol! Something terrible has happened! Oh my god, I can’t breathe, the day is ruined the wedding has to be cancelled I can’t believe I let something so awful happen under my watch this is a dis-”

“Haseul!” Jinsol all but screams into the phone, interrupting the clearly panicked bride so she can take a few breaths. “What happened?”

She hears a groan from the other end of the line, threatening to turn into a scream of frustration. Jinsol is somewhat glad she isn’t in Haseul’s presence, as angry Haseul is not someone anyone wants to be around. She has a habit of throwing things, whatever she can get her hands on, and Jinsol has had to duck from her fair share of shoes, pillows, and even a couple of glasses.

“The flower arrangements! They’re all wrong! I specifically made sure the florist knew exactly what I wanted yesterday but I guess she wasn’t paying enough attention to how things should be on the MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF MY LIFE!” Haseul seeths, and Jinsol hears the sound of something hard hitting a wall. Maybe a clock, or a TV remote.

“Okay, first of all, I’m going to need you to put down any objects in your hands and take a few deep breaths,” Jinsol says calmly, and she’s relieved when she hears a few things hit the floor and Haseul slump onto what she hopes is a comfy chair.

“There’s still a couple of hours until the ceremony, I’ll handle the flowers and you just sit tight and make sure you’re looking as pretty as ever, okay? Don’t worry about it.”

Haseul sighs. “Thank you, Jinsol. Sorry I went all bridezilla on you.”

Jinsol laughs. “That’s okay, it probably won’t be the first time.”

Hanging up, Jinsol takes a look in the mirror to make sure she hasn’t forgotten anything.

The bridesmaid’s dresses for Haseul’s bridal party aren’t identical, but the colour scheme is the same throughout the group. The dresses are all a shade of dark green, with Jinsol’s dress having a deep V-line with thin straps. It’s gorgeous, and Jinsol fell in love with it right from the first fitting. After a few alterations, it fits her perfectly.

She’s wearing more makeup than she did at the rehearsal dinner, with a member of Haseul’s crew popping by earlier. Jinsol isn’t very good at makeup, she often doesn’t wear any at all, but looking at the cool shades of brown on her eyelids and the pop of the light pink lipstick, she starts to think maybe she should ask the artist for a couple of pointers.

Her hair is pinned in an updo, curled but styled in a way that shows off her neck and collarbones. There is a large pin holding it all together from the back, some sort of bird Jinsol thinks, and the hair stylist was very particular about its placement.

Jinsol can’t argue. Taking her appearance in, she thinks she looks phenomenal. She just hopes she can keep herself together and look this good for the rest of the day.

Leaving Hyunjin to her own devices for the time being, Jinsol rushes down to the main floor, frantically trying to remember the route to the main ballroom. She takes a couple of turns and tries to follow the vague signs posted incredibly infrequently, and is frustrated to find herself back at the main elevator lobby.

“Ugh, where the hell is this place?” Jinsol groans, wishing there was some sort of interactive map like the ones present at most malls.

As she’s about to embark on another expedition, an elevator dings with it’s arrival, and the doors open to reveal none other than Ha Sooyoung.

Jinsol has to do a double take, and it takes immense effort to keep her jaw from dropping as she takes in the sight of her ex-girlfriend.

Sooyoung is absolutely stunning. Her dark hair has been expertly curled, half of it pinned back and out of her face, highlighting her detailed makeup. Her dress is a beautiful shade of light pink, it has a high neckline, and it flows down her slim frame like it was made for her, the slight slit accentuating her toned legs.

Jinsol takes a long, hard look at every inch of her as she approaches, and when the blonde finally meets her ex’s eyes, Sooyoung seems almost shy at the attention that Jinsol is giving her. That’s strange, and definitely new.

But, Jinsol quickly snaps herself back into focus, knowing that Haseul’s sanity is resting firmly on her shoulders.

“Hey…” she starts, awkwardly. She knows right now that they have to just ignore whatever is going on between them, for the sake of the wedding. That doesn’t mean it won’t be any less awkward, at least for a little while. “Do you remember the way to the ballroom? I’m totally clueless.”

Sooyoung laughs lightly. “Of course you are, you have the worst sense of direction of anyone I’ve ever met.”

“I do not!” Jinsol gasps, knowing Sooyoung is absolutely correct. She gets lost everywhere she goes. Even in her own apartment sometimes.

Sooyoung laughs again, and Jinsol is reminded of how beautiful that sound is.

“Follow me, I happen to be going there too.”

The two walk in stride, at least a foot between them, and in total silence as Jinsol follows Sooyoung’s lead. She’s still not quite over how drop dead gorgeous Sooyoung looks, not that she’s particularly surprised. Sooyoung could look gorgeous in a plastic bag.

“Did Haseul call you? About the flowers?”

Jinsol’s eyes perk up to meet Sooyoung’s.

“Yes, did she call you too?”

“No, Vivi did. I guess they were both stressing and sent us to solve the crisis,” Sooyoung muses.

“I mean, we are the maid of honours. Better us than them, right?”

Sooyoung nods as the two finally enter the threshold of the grand ballroom. It is, not surprisingly, set up completely different to the way it was for the rehearsal dinner. Except, however, there is no aisle, and the chairs are still stationed around tables instead of positioned to watch the beautiful couple exchange vows.

“This doesn’t look right,” Sooyoung mumbles, eyes taking in the room until she focuses on something out the window. “Are we sure the ceremony is inside?”

“I don’t know, I just kind of assumed it would be,” Jinsol says, also letting her eyes wander in confusion, and when she turns back to Sooyoung, she’s not there.

“Sooyoung?” Jinsol asks confusedly, looking around until she feels a hand slip into her own.

“This way, dummy.”

Jinsol lets Sooyoung pull her out of the ballroom and into the garden, ignoring the way her cheeks flared up and her heart rate spiked at Sooyoung’s gentle touch.

It seems like Sooyoung has woken up on a totally different side of the bed this morning. The games and the trickery, the cockiness and the spite, all seem to be gone for the time being. This is the side of Sooyoung that was always reserved for Jinsol alone. The one that Jinsol fell so hard for.

That’s dangerous, and Jinsol has to remind herself to be wary, and to not succumb to the pull of Sooyoung so easily again. Her antics from the night before still lay fresh in Jinsol’s mind, and she knows she can’t read too much into any of Sooyoung’s actions, as hard as that may be.

They pass by a number of frantic hotel staff, looking like worker bees as they zip around making sure everything in place. They also pass the bar where they first say each other the day before, and Jinsol ignores the twist in her stomach at the reminder.

Sooyoung keeps leading them out into the vast yard, and the two eventually find where the ceremony will be held, and this time, Jinsol lets her jaw drop in awe.

The sun must surely be shining down on Haseul and Vivi, as the sky is completely cloudless, the warm rays showcasing the delicate but simple decor expertly placed around a grand stone clearing, freshly cut grass bordering the area that must be the size of a hockey rink, at least.

Rows and rows of white chairs lined with green and pink ribbons face towards the largest arch Jinsol has ever seen, and the serene backdrop of the mountain range only adds to the fairytale feeling that this entire wedding has been characterized by.

However, it is clear that something isn’t right, and Jinsol pulls herself out of her state of disbelief at her surroundings to focus her attention to Sooyoung letting her hand go and making her way over to a pair arguing quietly around a large flower arrangement.

“I swear this is the layout that Ms. Jo sent us,” one of the workers mutters, the stress evident in her voice and her face as she wipes some sweat off of her forehead. Sooyoung approaches them confidently, Jinsol hot on her heels.

“Hello, Ha Sooyoung, Ms. Wong’s maid of honour. What seems to be the problem?” she asks, and both of the workers’ attention is immediately drawn to her. Jinsol never gets used to that.

“Well, there must have been a mixup somewhere, because Ms. Jo thinks that the flower arrangements are wrong but we followed the design she gave us,” the same worker says meekly.

Sooyoung nods, but she has an air of authority to her that even makes Jinsol a little scared. 

“Well, I’m not sure if you’ve forgotten, but today is Haseul’s wedding day. So if she says something is wrong, then it is. Are you sure you didn’t miss a last minute change?”

The other worker starts shaking a little and quickly pulls out his phone, presumably to check his email.

“Oh… she sent me an email last night at around 10pm. I was asleep, so I guess I didn’t catch it.”

Sooyoung scoffs. “Asleep at 10pm? Sure, well I’d best suggest you make those changes before Haseul can make another complaint. We don’t want that, do we?”

Both workers shake their heads violently, almost tripping over each other to get the flowers the way that Haseul desires.

Jinsol blinks a couple of times, and looks up to see Sooyoung’s smug smile and sparkling eyes.

“That was fun,” she says, chuckling a little as she watches a few workers lift the large flower arrangements with much difficulty. Jinsol doesn’t quite understand Haseul’s decision to request various symbols of her and Vivi’s relationship be made into flower sculptures, watching as a movie ticket stub is moved to the other side of the altar. To each their own.

“You didn’t even need me,” Jinsol says with a laugh, finding it hard to deny how sexy it was to watch Sooyoung handle that situation with such grace.

“That’s alright, you were here to just look pretty,” Sooyoung replies, and despite the flirty tone, she has a genuine smile on her face as she looks Jinsol straight in the eye.

Jinsol scoffs, hiding her blush by turning around and making her way back towards the hotel. She has no idea what Sooyoung’s doing, but she definitely can’t say she isn’t enjoying it. Hyunjin’s words echo in her mind as Sooyoung rushes to walk back in pace with Jinsol.

One step at a time.

The pair have barely crossed the threshold of the ballroom when they spot Vivi making her way over to them, makeup half done and her hair partly up in some extravagant updo. And she looks genuinely stressed, an emotion that Jinosl has rarely ever associated with her friend.

“We have a problem.”

Jinsol’s eyes widen. They’ve just solved a problem and another has already arisen. Well, Sooyoung solved it. Jinsol hopes she can pull her weight a little more this time.

“What is it?” Jinsol asks.

“Well, you know how big my family is and how many family friends I have. We couldn’t invite everyone, so, you know, sacrifices had to be made.”

The tone in which VIvi says that has Jinsol slightly alarmed.

“You didn’t… kill them, did you?”

Vivi and Sooyoung both scoff, Sooyoung pushing Jinsol slightly as she tries to hold back her laughter at Jinsol’s genuine bewilderment.

“No, Jinsol, we didn’t kill them. But, we didn’t invite them, which for them is probably just as bad, if not worse.”

Jinsol nods, quite relieved that Vivi wasn’t about to ask her and Sooyoung to bury a body or something.

“So, naturally, they came anyways, and we don’t have room for them nor do we really want them here. Can you guys try and get rid of them? I don’t care how, just make sure they don’t come to the ceremony or reception,” Vivi pleads, looking between the two in desperation.

“You got it boss, we’ll handle it,” Jinsol replies with a salute.

Vivi smiles, already looking much less worried than she had before. “Thank you, I think they arrived this morning so they should be in the main lobby. I have to finish getting ready, but I’ll see you guys soon.”

With that, she makes a quick exit, and Sooyoung and Jinsol look to each other.

“Well, how are we going to do this?” Jinsol asks, more to herself than Sooyoung.

“My first instinct was to give them shit for showing up to a wedding that they weren’t invited to, but I’m open to ideas,” Sooyoung replies, definitely more than a little pissed at the unwelcome guests.

Jinsol shakes her head. “We’ll call that a last resort, how about that?”

Sooyoung grumbles in agreeance, and they start to head towards the main lobby.

“We could say that the hotel has become infested with, like, ants or something?” Jinsol supplies.

“Or, even better, infested with possums.”

Jinsol stops walking, looking at Sooyoung ridiculously. “Possums? Really?”

“What? They’re creepy,” Sooyoung says with a shudder.

“How about rats? I can’t think of anyone that would want to stay in a hotel with rats in them,” Jinsol offers as they approach the entrance to the lobby. Sooyoung pulls them back a little to avoid the gaze of the wedding crashers.

“I mean, most hotels do have rats in them, but I think that just might work,” Sooyoung agrees. “Plus, they’re likely rich assholes. We could say that this hotel has a three star rating and they’d head for the hills.”

Jinsol laughs, and she looks up to catch Sooyoung smiling warmly at her.

“What are you smiling like that for?” Jinsol asks in a moment of bravery. She expects Sooyoung to rebuild the walls that she has seemingly brought down, but the softness in the brunette’s eyes doesn’t waver.

“Nothing, I just always loved the sound of your laugh. I’ve missed it,” Sooyoung admits, and once again, Jinsol is left spiralling at the smallest of confessions from her ex-girlfriend. These small moments of vulnerability, Jinsol knows this is when Sooyoung’s true feelings come out, and that most of her regular behaviour is just how she wants others to see her. A mask, to hide her real self from those she doesn’t trust.

When they were together, though, these moments didn’t happen often enough, and Jinsol was always left trying to piece together the right image of the woman she loved. She was glad to do it, because she was so hopelessly in love with Sooyoung, and deep down, she’d always hoped that Sooyoung would open up over time.

Of course, she never did, but now, Jinsol is starting to think she maybe has. The Sooyoung she knew from college certainly wouldn’t have changed her tune this abruptly. She would have kept their little game up for as long as she could, especially if she felt as though she was winning, which she certainly was.

But, Jinsol isn’t quite ready to break down her own walls. She doesn’t know if she can trust this version of Sooyoung yet, as much as she wants to. As tired as she is of being angry and upset over the past, she can’t ignore the lingering feelings of hurt and confusion that prevent her from falling for the soft eyes and first love smile. Not until Sooyoung proves that this isn’t just another mask.

So all Jinsol does is return the smile, even though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Sooyoung, and gestures towards the main lobby. They still have a whole day ahead of them, and Jinsol is trying her hardest to keep her priority list in check.

Sooyoung nods, and the pair cross into the grand entrance, eyes scanning for a group of individuals who are clearly out of place.

When Jinsol spots them, she nudges Sooyoung and points her in the right direction.

It looks like a family of three, and to their credit, they have certainly shown up ready for a wedding. One woman is dressed in an elegant black pantsuit, reminding Jinsol of the outfit she’d worn to her grandmother’s funeral a few years back. She seems to be incredibly impatient, glancing between her phone, the giant clock on the back wall, and the front desk so fast it looks as though she’s watching a ping pong match.

The woman beside her, seemingly her wife or girlfriend judging by the hand she has on the agitated woman’s thigh, is much more appropriately dressed given the occasion, wearing a long white dress decorated with yellow flowers. She’s gorgeous, they both are, and Jinsol can’t help but feel a little starstruck.

A small girl who Jinsol can only assume is their child is running circles around the lobby, dodging couches and lamps as she plays a game with herself, her purple dress flopping around as she does so.

This time, Jinsol makes the first move to approach them, wanting to handle this one on her own. As she gets closer, she can hear grumbles of frustration from the angry woman, and Jinsol feels a little bit of fear course through her veins. This woman looks like she could hurt her feelings and not give a damn about it. Jinsol is glad she has Sooyoung behind her, as her ex-girlfriend would definitely put up more of a fight.

“Hello, is there anything I can help you with?” Jinsol starts, already a little unsure.

The woman’s cold gaze locks on Jinsol’s own, and the blonde gulps at the intensity.

“Yes, actually. We’ve been waiting here for hours and the clearly incompetent staff keep telling us that they don’t have a room for us. It’s ridiculous, I took time off of work to be here. I’m a pretty big deal, I’ll have you know.”

Jinsol blinks, the woman’s words not making any sense whatsoever.

“Well that’s unfortunate. Which bride are you with?”

The woman narrows her eyes. “Do you not know who I am?”

Jinsol looks at Sooyoung, who only shrugs, and turns her own hard gaze back on the woman who is threatening to be quite the nuisance. Jinsol is about to reply but she’s interrupted.

“I am Irene. Kang Irene. I own a multimillion dollar clothing line and I’ve known Vivi since we were in boarding school together. I came to see her get married and I’ll be damned if I don’t. Where’s the manager of this god forsaken place?”

Jinsol’s eyes widen. It’s surprising that this woman didn't make the cut, if she’s really known Vivi for that long. But the longer that Jinsol is in her presence, she’s starting to understand Vivi’s decision.

“Honey, please, stop being so dramatic. Just pull out your invitation, I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding,” her wife supplies, rubbing her thigh as she does so. It seems to calm Irene slightly, but her eyes widen at the mention of the invitation.

“I shouldn’t need an invitation. They know who I am,” Irene grunts.

Jinsol is perplexed, but a slight nudge from Sooyoung reminds her of their plan.

“Right, well, the reason we haven’t been able to get your room together is because the hotel has become infested with rats,” Jinsol says in monotone.

At that moment, the small girl is rounding around the couch her moms are seated on, and her ears perk up at Jinsol’s words.

“Rats? Rats aren’t so bad, they are kind of cute!”

Irene rolls her eyes. “Seulgi, please tell Yeri for the hundredth time that rats are not our friends.”

The dark-haired woman’s gaze turns back to Jinsol.

“Fine, we won’t have a room then. But I still want to see the wedding. We did come all of this way, and I’d hate for the journey to be just a waste of our private jet’s fuel.”

Jinsol’s mouth opens, but she’s totally at a loss for words. This has to be the most ludicrous woman she’s ever met. 

“Well, about that, I-”

“It’s not just rats,” Sooyoung interrupts. “It’s ants too, they’re everywhere. If you look closely at the floor, you can see them. They’ll take anything they can get their little… claws on.”

Irene rolls her eyes. “That’s cute, you think a few ants are going to scare me. I watched people build houses in Africa, you know.”

Sooyoung blinks, and she puts her hands up in surrender, taking a few steps back.

As a last ditch effort, Jinsol says the next thing that comes to her mind.

“Well, I guess if the ants and rats won’t bother you, I’m sure the ghosts won’t either.”

At that, Irene freezes her movements. Seulgi and Yeri’s eyes snap towards the woman, and a look of fear graces all three of their faces.

“Did you say… ghosts?” Seulgi asks, instinctively pulling Yeri closer and squeezing Irene’s thigh in support.

Jinsol has to hold back her smile, trying to maintain her seriousness as she attempts to sell this insanity.

“Oh yeah, this place has seen its fair share of bloodshed over the past few centuries. They say that a bride murdered her groom on their wedding night, he’d been cheating on her or something, and she jumped off of the balcony in horror at her own actions.”

Jinsol almost feels bad, as the family of three look at her with rapt attention, but then she remembers that they invited themselves to this wedding. Anything for the brides.

“Ever since, she’s been tied to this hotel, and she targets married couples and those about to be married. She’s jealous of what they have, you see,” Jinsol says, before pausing for effect. “I guess Vivi and Haseul didn’t know the story when they booked their wedding. Hopefully nothing bad happens.”

Irene blinks a couple of times, looks around the lobby in fright, and rushes to grab her suitcase.

“You know, I just remembered that I have a huge presentation to give at my company. How could I be so silly? Come on honey, we should get out of here.”

“While we still can,” Yeri mumbles as her mother puts a sweater over her dress.

“Thank you so much for inviting us, and give Haseul and Vivi my congratulations,” Irene says with a tight-lipped smile, before whisking her and her family out the front door as fast as her short legs can take her.

As soon as they’re out of earshot, Jinsol and Sooyoung burst out into a fit of laughter, tears threatening to fall from their eyes.

“I can’t believe that was all it took to get them to leave! A good old ghost story! I would have never thought of that,” Sooyoung says as she finally calms down. “Good thinking.”

Jinsol flips her hair dramatically, a beaming smile on her face.

“Can’t have you being the only one to save the day, can we?”

Sooyoung giggles as she shakes her head. “No, Jung Jinsol you are quite the heroine.”

They smile at each other, and Jinsol only now realizes she’d rested her hand on Sooyoung’s shoulder in an attempt to control her own laughter. She drops it slowly, but can’t rip her gaze away from Sooyoung’s eyes, feeling the ever familiar pull and finding it increasingly hard to resist.

Luckily, a distraught hotel employee approaches the two, and Jinsol is brought back to reality.

“Are you Sooyoung and Jinsol?” she asks, uttering her words at a mile a minute.

Jinsol nods, and the woman shoves a note into her hands and is gone as fast as she appeared.

Jinsol carefully unravels it, and recognizes Haseul’s scrambled handwriting.

My mother has gone crazy. So has Vivi’s. Help please. :)

They’re in the ballroom I think, I don’t know. I want a drink.

Jinsol snorts at the smiley face, and hands Sooyoung the note to read as well.

“Five bucks she’s made at least three men cry this morning alone,” Sooyoung says as the two start to walk back towards the ballroom.

“She’s been surrounded by women all morning, she probably hasn’t seen or even thought about a man since she got here,” Jinsol counters, wondering how the hell they are going to sort out a spat between the mothers of the brides.

“She’d have found a way,” is all Sooyoung replies, making Jinsol giggle again.

“You know, we do make a pretty good team,” Sooyoung continues. “It’s nice to be on the same side as you again.”

Jinsol keeps her gaze forward, wishing she wasn’t in agreeance with that statement more than she should be.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Jinsol replies shortly. They thankfully enter the ballroom before the conversation can continue, and they are greeted by two shrill voices screaming so loud Jinsol is sure her eardrums are pierced.

“My daughter basically planned this whole wedding, you have no right to talk to me like that!”

“We both know that’s a lie, and besides, I’m the one who paid for it!”

Jinsol gulps, already willing to give up her heroine title to Sooyoung. Her ex-girlfriend’s expertise would probably be better put to use here.

Sooyoung takes one look at Jinsol’s face and comes to the same conclusion, quickly approaching the two women before the claws can come out.

“Ladies, is everything alright here?”

Vivi’s mother seems to sigh in relief. “Oh, Sooyoung, thank goodness. Can you please tell this wench that she’s being ridiculous?”

Haseul’s mother scoffs. “Please, you’re so clearly in the wrong.” Her gaze lands on Jinsol standing a few feet away. “Jinsol! Darling, please, you’re a smart girl, you’ll see my side.”

Jinsol’s eyes widen, and she reluctantly moves to stand beside Mrs. Jo.

“Well, what’s the problem?” she asks, checking her watch and realizing there isn’t much time before she’s to meet in Haseul’s bridal suite.

“You just have to agree that I deserve to walk my daughter down the aisle first and we can all be on with our day,” Vivi’s mother says with a smile faker than her nose. Haseul’s mother scoffs, and Sooyoung and Jinsol look at each other with confusion.

Before Jinsol can interject, Haseul’s mom pipes up.

“Why should you go first? I’m the one who’s helped Haseul with this whole wedding, we deserve to go first.”

“Actually, Vivi helped Hase-” Sooyoung is interrupted by Vivi’s mother, who starts laughing loudly, shaking her head in defiance.

“Why does it even matter? You’ll both get to walk your daughter’s down the aisle on their wedding day, who cares who goes first?” Jinsol asks the two women, exasperated.

“This isn’t even your day, this is about your daughters. Haseul’s already stressed enough as it is, and you two are making this worse,” Sooyoung contributes, untangling herself from Vivi’s mother’s death grip.

The two older women look at each other, their pride clearly preventing either from conceding too quickly. Their eyes are locked in an intense battle, and finally, to Jinsol’s surprise, Vivi’s mother looks away and up to the ceiling in frustration.

“Fine, you can go first if you care that much. God, it’s not even your wedding,” the woman mutters, and Jinsol can only laugh at the hypocrisy.

Haseul’s mother squeals with glee. “Thank you. And thank you, girls. I’m sure you’ll understand our position when you’re walking your own daughter down the aisle.”

Jinsol is sure that isn’t true, these two women seem like a different breed of vicious mother.

Her suspicions are confirmed when she hears Haseul’s mother’s parting remarks muttered under her breath, aimed at the red-haired older woman.

“Besides, you’ll get another chance to walk down the aisle at your third wedding,” is what the older woman says, and Jinsol is thankful Vivi’s mom is already halfway out the door considering she’s only in the middle of her first divorce.

Jinsol looks again to Sooyoung, and they both heave a sigh of relief. Checking her watch, Jinsol knows she has to be with Haseul at any moment. But, Sooyoung’s eyes are keeping her rooted in place, Jinsol unable, and maybe unwilling, to fight the magnetic pull.

Luckily, Jinsol hears her name being called from the ballroom entrance, and she tears her gaze away from Sooyoung to meet a welcome face.

Hyunjin smiles and makes her way over to the pair. Jinsol is thankful for the interruption, even though Sooyoung may not be happy to see her best friend.

“I got a very frantic text from Haseul asking me to bring you to her. Have you been checking your phone?”

Jinsol’s eyes widen. “No, I guess I haven’t been. We’ve been a little busy.”

Hyunjin looks between the two of them with narrowed eyes, and sends Jinsol a not subtle questioning gaze. Jinsol rolls her eyes.

“I’ll tell you later, you’d love to hear about the woman I met this morning, but I should probably get to Haseul.”

Jinsol turns to Sooyoung, who has been surprisingly quiet. Hyunjin’s presence usually brings out her snarky side, sometimes in fun and sometimes not, but Jinsol doesn’t find any of the usual disdain on Sooyoung’s face. Only the same warm smile she’s had on all morning.

“I guess I’ll see you later?”

Sooyoung nods. “See you later, glasses.”

Jinsol blushes bright red as Sooyoung makes her exit, presumably on her way to Vivi’s bridal suite.

“Glasses? Didn’t she call you that in college?” Hyunjin asks, dragging the unmoving Jinsol towards the elevators.

“Yeah, I forgot about that,” Jinsol trails off, vivid memories of her and Sooyoung and college making her heart ache. Sooyoung teasing her endlessly, always looking to make Jinsol flustered, but melting into a puddle whenever Jinsol smiled at her.

“Alright Juliet, forget about your Romeo for now. We’ve got a wedding to finish, you can freak out after the ‘I do’s,” Hyunjin mutters, dragging Jinsol along by the wrist and half wishing she’d requested a fee for her services this weekend.

Hyunjin manages to deliver Jinsol to Haseul’s suite in one piece, and leaves to take her place in the growing audience ready to see the main event. It isn’t long before they’re due to take center stage.

The second Haseul opens the door to let Jinsol in, the blonde’s jaw drops and she has to immediately turn her back to the bride-to-be, trying to hold in the sudden onrush of tears.

“Haseul you look so beautiful,” Jinsol chokes out, fanning her eyes so she doesn’t ruin her makeup. Despite all the running around she’s done with Sooyoung this morning, her hair and makeup managed to stay fairly intact, and she refuses to let that go to waste so soon before the ceremony.

Jinsol feels Haseul’s arms slide around her waist from behind, and she lets herself shed one single tear.

“You’re about to get married,” Jinsol whispers. Haseul chuckles, and squeezes Jinsol a little tighter.

“I’ve heard that so many times today and I still can’t really believe it.” Jinsol can hear the smile on Haseul’s face without having to see it, and it warms her heart to no end.

Realizing they’re still standing in the hallway, Jinsol carefully detaches Haseul from her body, and leads the two of them into the suite and in front of the long mirror placed solely to admire Haseul’s beauty from any and all angles.

Her dress is very simple, but very Haseul. It’s not too flowy, not too extravagant, and not too flashy, but Haseul still looks like a princess.

Her hair is straight, part of it pinned up, but Jinsol’s favourite piece is a small, light pink bow pinned right above her ear. It really ties the whole look together, and Jinsol doesn’t think Haseul has ever looked more radiant. The shining presence of the sun won’t be the brightest thing in attendance, that’s for sure.

“I want to thank you,” Haseul says, taking Jinsol’s hand. “For last night, I was a mess and you somehow knew all the right things to say.”

Jinsol smiles, swallowing down the threat of bitterness that threatens to rise.

“You don’t have to thank me for that,” Jinsol replies. “All I did was remind you of what you already knew.”

Haseul sighs, looking Jinsol straight in the eye while moving to hold Jinsol’s other hand as well. The eye contact is a little alarming, and Jinsol is about to question the other woman when she says something Jinsol wasn’t quite expecting to hear.

“You helped me see my love was still there, that it never left, really. Don’t give up on yours yet.”

Jinsol’s eyes widen, and as the pair are suddenly swept up by the rest of Haseul’s bridal party and led down towards a small tent just out of reach from where the ceremony is to be held, she’s left wondering what on earth Haseul meant by that.

She finally regains her bearings and looks around the group of her fellow bridesmaids, becoming alarmed that Haseul is nowhere to be seen. She starts frantically looking around, but she can’t find the woman in white.

“Looking for me?”

A smooth voice definitely not belonging to Haseul comes from behind Jinsol, and she turns around to meet Sooyoung’s gleaming eyes, the rest of Vivi’s bridal party not far behind her. Jinsol laughs.

“Haseul, actually, but I guess you’ll do.”

Sooyoung laughs in return, and despite it being maybe 20 minutes since they last saw each other, Jinsol feels like she’s missed her. Maybe just a little.

“Her, Vivi, and their parents are kept separate right until they walk down the aisle. They’ll be here, though. You don’t have to worry anymore.”

Jinsol rolls her eyes. “You know I’ll worry right up until they’re pronounced wife and wife.”

Sooyoung just smiles, again, and Jinsol would be annoyed that Sooyoung keeps ending conversations at random points if her smile wasn’t so beautiful.

Jinsol turns towards the aisle just a few yards away, bordered by rows of adoring guests waiting to see Haseul and Vivi exchange vows and prepare to spend the rest of their lives together. It feels like so long has built up to this moment, and now that it’s here, it feels completely surreal to Jinsol.

“They’re really about to get married,” she says, mostly to herself. But Sooyoung nods from beside her.

“I can’t believe that they’ve made it this far. I mean, I can believe it, but,” Sooyoung pauses, and looks towards Jinsol’s side profile. “They’ve made it farther than most do.”

Jinsol can feel Sooyoung’s gaze but chooses to ignore it, hyper aware of how close her ex-girlfriend is standing to her. The hardest part is almost over, she just has to get through the ceremony and she feels like she’ll be in the clear. How much can go wrong at the reception, right?

Luckily for her, the small orchestra placed serenely just to the left starts to begin playing, with the mountain backdrop cementing this whole event in Jinsol’s mind as nothing short of a fairy tale. It’s fitting, considering both princesses have definitely found their one true love.

The first sets of bridesmaids make their way down the aisle, matching each other step by step.

And it isn’t until Sooyoung extends her arm to Jinsol that the blonde realizes she’s going to have to walk down the aisle with her ex-girlfriend. She has to keep her laugh in, but an ironic smile finds its way on her face, and she shakes her head slightly. How it took her this long to put those pieces together is worrying, but she’s now certain that things can’t get more awkward than this.

So, Jinsol plasters on her million dollar smile, and takes Sooyoung’s arm in her own, already finding the closeness incredibly dangerous. She can smell Sooyoung’s perfume, and is shocked to recognize it as the same one that Jinsol would always get her for Christmas when they were together. She manages to stop the flood of memories this time though, and focuses on putting one foot in front of the other as they make their way past the incredibly long aisle.

“By the way,” Sooyoung mumbles, “I’m sorry about yesterday.”

Jinsol’s eyes widen but her grin maintains its shape, unable to completely hide the shock.

“What?”

“For, you know, leaving you like that.”

Jinsol can’t believe what she’s hearing. “You’re doing this now?”

“Seems as good as time as any.”

Jinsol huffs, hoping nobody in the audience can hear this conversation, considering she doesn’t even want to be a part of it at the moment.

“It’s fine, Sooyoung.”

“It isn’t fine, I felt like shit after. I don’t even know why I did it,” Sooyoung presses on. They’re almost at the end, with the brides due to make their appearance any minute, and Jinsol wants to smack Sooyoung for choosing this moment in time to have this conversation.

“Well, you did. Can’t take it back now,” Jinsol says, starting to get a little annoyed.

“No, but it’s about time I started taking responsibility for my mistakes,” Sooyoung admits, letting Jinsol’s arm go as they reach the altar.

Jinsol finally turns to meet Sooyoung’s eyes, and she can genuinely say she hasn’t seen so much sincerity in them, possibly ever. Jinsol can’t understand her, despite how hard she’s trying. Years of seeing Sooyoung as nothing but a closed book has cemented suspicions in her mind, used to second guessing every word and gesture.

“Better late than never?” Sooyoung asks hopefully, and Jinsol can’t help but hope that that book might just be opening.

The orchestra changes its tune, indicating that it’s finally the brides’ turn to make their way down the aisle.

With one last smile, Sooyoung leaves Jinsol’s side to take her place just next to the officiant. Jinsol does the same, trying her best to put the thoughts of the other woman from her mind. When she looks up to see Haseul’s smiling face, bordered by her parents as they walk down the aisle, it’s as if Sooyoung never existed.

Memories instead of her and Haseul throughout their years together are what comes to Jinsol’s mind. Countless pizza nights cramming for exams, nights at the club drinking until they’re dancing in the middle of the street, and hours spent being each other’s confidants in their relationship and college struggles.

Jinsol doesn’t know where she would be without Haseul, and if she leaves this weekend with one thing to take home, it’s that she has to make more of an effort to make sure Haseul knows just that.

Haseul gets a kiss on each cheek from her parents before she takes her place just in front of Jinsol, her beaming smile capable of brightening up even the darkest of nights. Haseul gives Jinsol her bouquet to hold, light pink flowers with a green ribbon, and Jinsol gives her hand a squeeze. The brunette rushes to give Jinsol one quick hug, and Jinsol laughs when she feels Haseul literally vibrating with excitement.

All eyes turn again to the start of the aisle, Vivi closing out the show. And, unsurprisingly, she puts even the most glamorous of celebrities to shame. Her white gown is long, flowing, and decorated with diamonds fitting of a woman like her. Her red hair is pinned in an updo, and she shares the same bright smile that deepens when she meets the eyes of her soon-to-be wife.

Vivi might genuinely be the most gorgeous person Jinsol has ever met, inside and out, and the older woman never lets her forget it.

She too arrives at the altar, and Haseul immediately reaches out to clutch Vivi’s hands in her own.

“You’re so beautiful,” Vivi whispers, and no matter how many times Jinsol’s sure Haseul has heard that from the redhead, she blushes anyways.

The officiant clears her throat, and all eyes look to the short woman standing under the altar.

“Welcome, everyone. My name is Jihyo, and it is my utmost honour to be the person to marry two of the most kind, selfless, and loving people I have ever met.”

Jinsol looks at Jihyo, wondering how she knows the two brides. Haseul and Vivi are both social butterflies, evident in the few hundred people in attendance today, and they never fail to leave an impression on those they meet.

“I got ordained on some website, and it said to speak about marriage and what it means to help introduce the couple,” Jihyo continues. “I’m sure there are people here who will disagree with me, but I don’t think every couple needs to get married.”

“Two people can live their entire lives devoted to each other without ever putting that in writing, and that doesn’t make them any less in love. Any less perfect for each other, complimenting each other in every way.”

“And that’s exactly what these two have been doing for as long as I’ve known them, and I know for sure I’m not alone in saying that they’d continue to be each other’s perfect half even without rings on their fingers.”

Jihyo pauses to look at the loving couple, and her smile grows.

“But, there aren’t two people more deserving of a life filled with love, happiness, and commitment than the two women in front of me. And I’m so happy to bear witness to them making that ultimate commitment, and start the rest of their lives.”

Tears are flowing down Jinsol’s face, her makeup the furthest thought from her mind. This Jihyo is one hell of an officiant. She spares a glance to the audience, trying to find Hyunjin, and has to hold in her laugh as she spots her best friend’s bright red face and handful of tissues trying to stop her own flow of tears. They’ve always been a sensitive pair.

“Now, I’ll turn it over to the ladies of the hour so they can recite their vows that will turn us all into sobbing babies.”

The audience laughs, and Haseul looks to Jinsol and gestures for her bouquet, retrieving a small piece of paper from it. She unfolds it shakily and reads it over, before letting it fall to the floor and looking up to meet the eyes of the love of her life.

“I spent so long trying to write these vows, I probably finished with about 30 different drafts, but no words ever seemed to be good enough at describing how I feel about you. I tried to Google tips and all I got was ‘speak from the heart’ which, surprisingly, isn’t that helpful.”

Haseul pauses, gripping Vivi’s hands so tight that Jinsol is worried she might leave a mark. She meets Vivi’s eyes, and it’s pretty clear to all in attendance that her heart is telling her exactly what she wants to say.

“You are my everything. You are everything I’ve ever wanted, and everything I ever will want. I don’t know what I’ve done in a previous life to deserve someone who loves me, cares for me, and understands me like you do.”

“I know we had a bit of a rocky start, but even if I could go back and change it, I wouldn’t. Every obstacle, every argument, every time we were our stubborn selves, it was all worth it because you’re worth it. I love you more than I could ever say, Wong Vivi, and I vow to you that I’ll spend the rest of our lives trying my best to put that into words.”

There isn’t a dry eye in attendance, Jinsol is pretty sure she can hear Hyunjin sobbing from where she’s standing. Jinsol’s heart is so full, hearing Haseul’s words and knowing just how far the two have come. It can’t help but bring her a bit of hope, and she has to stop herself from looking in Sooyoung’s direction.

“God, how am I supposed to follow that?” Vivi jokes, wiping her own tears away while somehow maintaining her perfect makeup.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but I used to have a list of all of the things I wanted in a partner before I met you. I’d been with a few bad eggs and, at the time, I wanted my next relationship to be with someone perfect.”

“And then I met you, and my first thought was that, for one, you were so far out of my league, and two, you were certainly not the one for me,” Vivi admits, laughing at her past self. “If anyone didn’t know how stupid we were in college, they do now, but the more I got to know you, the more I realized that you checked off everything on that list.”

“You’re patient, and you know how I’m feeling and what I need even before I do. You make me laugh constantly, and you are always there to bring me up when I’m feeling down. I can’t picture my life without you, and I don’t want to, because you constantly make me want to be the best person I can be.”

“Every morning, when I wake up and see you next to me, I have to pinch myself to convince myself that this is real, because you, Jo Haseul, are my dream girl. And if I am dreaming, well, then I definitely don’t want to wake up.”

A chorus of aww’s echo around the audience, and Jinsol hears Sooyoung mumble “softie” under her breath, but her glossy eyes and wet cheeks betray her.

Even Jihyo has to pull out a tissue before she pulls herself together.

“Alright, I’ve got a job to do. Can we have the rings please?”

A small woman leads a golden labrador dressed in a suit up to the altar. Jinsol blinks a few times, wondering how on earth she managed to miss the fact that the ring bearer was a dog.

Haseul giggles and reaches down to grab both rings from a small pocket on the dog’s suit, before giving him a few pats on the head. She hands one of the rings to Vivi, and Jihyo clears her throat.

“Jo Haseul, do you take Wong Vivi to be your wife?”

Haseul grins. “I do.” She slides the gold ring on Vivi’s finger, and brings her almost-wife’s hand up to her mouth to leave a kiss.

Jihyo squeals, but quickly brings back her straight face.

“Wong Vivi, do you take Jo Haseul to be your wife?”

VIvi nods. “You bet I do,” she replies eagerly, placing Haseul’s ring on her delicate finger.

“Well, I think that’s it,” Jihyo muses, holding the audience in suspense. “Oh! I forgot to ask if anyone objected to this union. Anyone out there want to make a scene?”

The audience just laughs, and Haseul gives Jihyo a playful shove. Whoever this woman is, Jinsol is a fan.

“Alright, alright. Then by the power vested in me, thanks to some random website on the internet that I’m maybe 90% sure is legit, I pronounce these women wife and wife! You may now kiss th-”

She doesn’t get to finish her sentence before Vivi pulls Haseul closer by the waist, connecting their lips in a much needed kiss, causing the audience to erupt in hoots and hollers. Jinsol joins in the cheering, her vision blurry from the tears but she doesn’t care.

Two of her best friends are married.

The wives finally break apart from each other, their smiles unlikely to waiver for a very long time. They join hands and make their way back down the aisle, basking in the thunderous applause by their adoring guests.

Jinsol gets lost watching them take in their moment, it’s the absolute least they deserve, when she feels a hand on her arm. She looks over to Sooyoung’s familiar gaze, and while she’s still a little annoyed at Sooyoung’s antics, she’s finding it harder and harder to pretend that she’s not still painstakingly, madly in love with her.

And as the two make their descent back down the aisle, hand in hand, Jinsol starts desperately hoping that Sooyoung left her mask behind in that storage closet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love viseul in case that wasn't clear
> 
> please comment and lemme know what you think!! i really do hope people still reading this LMAO
> 
> see y'all for the last chapter <3


	4. the reception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the two songs that are played in this chapter are waiting for you by the aces and the good side by troye sivan :)

“Everyone, if I could get your attention please! I am delighted to introduce to you all, for the first time, Mrs. Haseul and Vivi Wong!”

The guests erupt in cheers and applause as a spotlight shines down on the entrance to the banquet hall. Jinsol hoops and hollers from beside Hyunjin, who wolf whistles loudly.

The noise somehow gets even louder as the women in question open the large double doors, smiling from ear to ear as they enter, hands interlocked. Haseul poses for the many cameras that have been placed around the entrance, and Vivi only laughs at her now-wife as she drags the brunette towards the center of the dance floor.

The crowd dies down as the couple reach their destination and music starts echoing throughout the room. Vivi slides an arm around Haseul’s waist and Haseul rests her head on Vivi’s shoulder as Jinsol recognizes the melody immediately. It’s a song from an album that her and Haseul used to listen to religiously in college, and this song in particular described her and Vivi’s relationship quite perfectly at the time.

Not the most traditional of first dance songs, most choose only the cheesiest of love songs, but Jinsol smiles, finding the selection nothing short of perfect.

_I thought I made it clear as crystal, Doesn’t have to be this hard_

“I want what they have,” Hyunjin says solemnly, nursing a fruity cocktail.

Jinsol briefly turns her attention away from the happy couple. “You do?”

Hyunjin rolls her eyes. “Don’t act so surprised, I do have a heart you know.”

“I’d hope so, you’d be dead otherwise.”

Jinsol has to grab Hyunjin’s arm before her best friend can storm off in annoyance.

“Okay, okay. It’s just a little surprising, you have never really been the relationship type.”

Hyunjin ponders the thought. “True, our fake relationship didn’t even last a full day and it’s still one of my longest.”

_You been thinkin, You been thinkin, Over-thinkin, You been thinkin babe, Just a little too much_

Jinsol laughs, and she catches Hyunjin’s eyes wandering to a different part of the room towards a short brunette, who’s eyes sparkle as she watches Haseul and Vivi dance. Jinsol immediately recognizes her as Haseul’s cousin, Heejin. She’s in Haseul’s bridal party, and Jinsol was taken aback at her kindness from the start. Not to mention her beauty, which Hyunjin certainly seems to have noticed.

“You’re staring, you know,” Jinsol says, causing Hyunjin to stop sending heart eyes Heejin’s way and instead send daggers towards Jinsol.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

_I been sittin’ here waiting, I’ve been waiting for you_

Hyunjin’s face blushes red, and Jinsol can barely believe her eyes.

“Do you have a crush?”

“NO!” Hyunjin yells a little too loudly, causing a few nearby guests to give them dirty looks.

_I’ve sent out invitations, It’s getting frustrating, Waiting for you_

Jinsol quickly apologizes for the outburst, and looks to her best friend. Underneath the embarrassment, Jinsol can tell that Hyunjin is terrified. While she certainly has a way with women, when it comes to real feelings, Hyunjin is at a loss. She doesn’t have much experience beyond a single night, and Jinsol can already tell that a casual encounter is the furthest thing from Hyunjin’s mind at the moment.

“Why don’t you go talk to her?” Jinsol asks gently.

Hyunjin looks at her, mouth agape. “Because that would mean I would have to _talk_ to her.”

Jinsol blinks. “Of course, what was I thinking.”

Hyunjin groans, burying her head in one hand while still trying to take a sip of her drink with the other. She’s a mess, and over a girl she hasn’t even spoken one word to.

_I think you know what I want, Now I think you know what I want_

Jinsol puts a hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder, trying to reassure her before she runs out of the ballroom. If Jinsol herself gets nothing out of this weekend, she at least wants it to have been worth it for Hyunjin.

“I know it’s scary, but what’s the worst that could happen? She isn’t into you?”

“Yes, that is literally the worst possible outco-.”

“Let me finish,” Jinsol warns, and Hyunjin nods, staring at the bottom of her now empty glass.

“If you talk to her, be your usual charming and beautiful self, and she isn’t interested, then you can’t have any regrets. At least you laid it out there and gave it a shot. And, you’ll be better prepared for the next time.”

Hyunjin ponders on the advice. Jinsol is usually the one who requires the aid in this friendship, Hyunjin always seeming to have an answer to every problem that has ever arisen in Jinsol’s life. The blonde is hoping she can return the favour at least in part.

“I guess that’s true,” Hyunjin admits. “But I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

_And I hope you know that I want you_

“Well, you know how to talk to women. Just, you know, tone down the greasiness and don’t be an asshole and you’ll probably be fine.”

Hyunjin snorts, but nods along. She gestures over to the bar before replying.

“With one more drink in me, we’ll see what happens.”

Jinsol laughs, but agrees after looking down to her own almost empty glass just as the song starts coming to a close. They make their way over and order their second drinks, and Jinsol makes a promise to herself that this will be her last drink of the night. She’s still slightly feeling the effects of the alcohol from the night before, and this is a night she definitely doesn’t want to forget.

Hyunjin, however, downs her second drink in one go, and she’s about to order a third before Haseul suddenly materializes before them, as happy as Jinsol has ever seen her.

“Guys! Come dance with us! I love this song,” Haseul all but screams over the loud thumping of the bass. Jinsol identifies the familiar horns of a Blackpink song, so she isn’t slow to follow Haseul’s lead right into the center of the dance floor, where Vivi is waiting.

And for the first time in perhaps the whole weekend, Jinsol feels relaxed. The hard part is well and truly over, her duties as maid of honour finished, and the only thing left on her to-do list is to enjoy the night with some of her best friends. No matter what else happens, she doesn’t want to look back on the weekend with regret.

It seems as though a weight has been partially lifted off of her, and frankly, she doesn’t care what happens with Sooyoung. Of course she has her hopes, but if they don’t come true, Jinsol doesn’t think it’ll be the end of the world. The emotional heights that this weekend has brought on has kept her mind well and truly jumbled, the panic of the wedding and seeing Sooyoung after all these years turning her inside out, but Jinsol’s head finally starts to feel a bit clearer now. Perhaps, the clearest it’s been since the day Sooyoung walked out on her.

She’s let herself wallow in sadness for much too long. Looking around at her friends and remembering how much they’ve been there for her this weekend, Jinsol sees that she has so much more than just Sooyoung, and if things don’t work out, then it just wasn’t meant to be. At least she’ll have three pairs of arms ready to support her when she falls. Sooyoung may still have one last trick up her sleeve, but for now, Jinsol is happy to dance the night away with the people she loves.

Jinsol smiles brightly, and starts to laugh when Haseul attempts to grind on her. Vivi stops to laugh as well, and Haseul quickly moves over to Hyunjin, who just stands there awkwardly. Eventually, Vivi takes Hyunjin’s place, and Haseul places a kiss on her wife’s lips.

It starts off sweet, but Jinsol rushes to break them apart when Haseul’s hands start to wander. There are kids only a few feet away after all.

“Save it for the honeymoon suite,” Jinsol yells in Haseul’s ear, and the brunette is only able to shoot her a wink before she’s whisked away by a couple of her bridesmaids.

Jinsol turns back to Hyunjin to find her, not surprisingly, staring holes into the back of Heejin’s head. The shorter girl isn’t far away, dancing with what looks like some of Haseul’s younger cousins.

“Go ask her to dance!” Jinsol suggests, watching Vivi approach the DJ out of the corner of her eye.

Hyunjin looks at Jinsol before her eyes dart around. “Me?”

“Yes you, you idiot. Show her some moves, you love showing off,” Jinsol says. At every party the two have attended together, it never takes longer than 10 minutes for Hyunjin to steal the attention of every attendee with her dancing skills. From breakdancing to the sprinkler, the woman can do it all.

Hyunjin, wide-eyed, turns her attention back to Heejin. “I should, shouldn’t I? I mean, it’s like you said, what have I got to lose?”

Jinsol grins. “Exactly. Go get ‘em, tiger!” She gives Hyunjin a push on the back for good luck, and to prevent her from changing her mind, and the brunette’s fast reflexes are all that prevent her from crashing into Heejin’s back. The pair are a bit too far away for Jinsol to hear the conversation, but Heejin is smiling, so she thinks that is a good start. When Hyunjin starts doing the butter churn, Jinsol turns around, having seen enough.

Hopefully Heejin has a sense of humour.

Unfortunately for Hyunjin, the song ends quite abruptly, and a slower song starts playing in its place. Jinsol takes that as her cue to leave, thinking she might take this time to catch up with some of her college acquaintances, but she feels a hand placed on her shoulder before she can take a step.

She turns around and sees Sooyoung standing shyly in front of her, one hand outstretched in Jinsol’s direction.

“May I have this dance?”

Melodic guitar strums echo throughout the ballroom, accompanied by the unmistakable voice of Troye Sivan, and Jinsol tries to hide the small smile that threatens to grace her face as she takes Sooyoung’s hand without a word, letting her ex-girlfriend pull her into a gentle hold. Sooyoung’s hand rests on Jinsol’s waist, Jinsol’s on Sooyoung’s shoulder, and their other hands intertwine as they start to sway.

_I got the good side of things, Left you with both of the rings_

“It’s been quite the weekend hasn’t it,” Sooyoung mumbles, almost whispering in Jinsol’s ear, her heels giving her an inch or so on Jinsol.

Jinsol nods. “It definitely hasn’t quite gone the way I expected it to.”

_I got the good side of you, Send it out into the blue_

“In what way?” Sooyoung ponders. Jinsol shifts a little awkwardly, and Sooyoung squeezes her hand in an attempt to reassure her.

“I think you can probably guess.”

_But I sympathize, and I recognize, And baby, I apologize_

Their eyes meet, and maybe it’s the lyrics to the song, the way that Sooyoung is holding Jinsol like she’s afraid to let go, or Jinsol’s just clouded by her own desires, but all that she can see on Sooyoung’s face is guilt. Maybe Sooyoung didn’t get the good side of their breakup, like Jinsol always assumed she did.

“Well, I’m glad it’s turned out this way,” Sooyoung says, wistfully. “Even though you tried to make me jealous.”

Jinsol laughs and shakes her head before moving it to rest on Sooyoung’s shoulder.

_So many thoughts I wanted to share, But I didn’t call because it wouldn’t be fair_

“It worked though.”

“Agree to disagree.”

They are both quiet for a moment, happy to enjoy each other’s presence, and neither wanting the song to end.

“I really am sorry, about yesterday. I guess I wasn’t sure what to expect from this weekend, and I let my jealousy get the better of me.”

Jinsol raises her head once more, caught off guard by the sincerity of Sooyoung’s words.

_You taught me the ropes, and you taught me to love_

“It’s okay, and I’m sorry for making you jealous. I guess neither of us were being our best selves,” Jinsol says with a chuckle, breaking Sooyoung’s intense gaze. She might have been angry at the time, but they have both been guilty of trying to get a rise out of each other. Jinsol is tired of stressing over the past, wanting to focus on the future instead, where she hopes things are a little brighter.

“I think I’ve always been my best self when I’ve been with you, actually. I just lost sight of that a bit,” Sooyoung replies, so quiet that Jinsol barely hears it. It makes her heart stop, and she holds onto Sooyoung’s shoulder a little tighter as she forces herself to look into the brunette’s eyes once more.

“You were always too good for me anyways,” Sooyoung adds, her eyes firmly focused on Jinsol’s lips.

_And baby, I apologize, that I got the good side, the good side of things_

Jinsol finds herself instinctively moving closer to Sooyoung, until the only thing separating their two lips is the consequences of a kiss that can’t be blamed on a substance running through their veins.

She wonders if Sooyoung can hear how loud her heart is pounding, but at the way Sooyoung is staring at her, Jinsol is sure their heart rates are comparable.

Before she can lean in, the song starts to fade out, the electronic synths drawing to a close. And, like an ice bucket being dumped on their heads, Party in the USA starts blasting loudly from the speakers, startling both women apart from each other.

Jinsol hears a loud scream from one side of the dance floor, and she isn’t surprised to see Haseul’s small frame emerge from the crowd, champagne bottle in one hand and crab leg in the other. Her eyes land on Sooyoung and Jinsol, both beet red and trying to avoid each other’s gaze, and thankfully, she doesn’t comment on it.

“THIS IS MY JAM!” is what she instead chooses to yell, pulling them both closer to her and forcing them to dance with her. Jinsol can only laugh, Haseul’s joy is incredibly infectious, and dances along with her. Vivi appears out of nowhere, and by the end of the song, Hyunjin and Heejin have joined them as well.

Jinsol looks around at the group, her heart warming at the happiness on everyone’s faces. When she looks at Sooyoung, she isn’t surprised to find her gaze already trained on her. Sooyoung smiles, the kind of smile that had Jinsol falling for her all those years ago, and when Jinsol smiles back, she thinks she might just be falling again.

Eventually, the song ends, and Haseul flops down on the floor in exhaustion.

“Come on, babe, it’s almost time for the speeches. Let’s get you to your seat,” Vivi says lovingly, lifting her wife from the ground and leading her towards their seat.

“I have to use the washroom, come with?” Hyunjin whispers in Jinsol’s ear, to which she quickly nods.

Hyunjin practically sprints out of the ballroom, and Jinsol struggles to keep up with her until they finally reach one of the attaching hallways.

“God, you must really have to pee,” Jinsol wheezes, trying desperately to catch her breath.

“I don’t at all, actually, but I needed a minute away from Heejin so I can finally take a full breath,” Hyunjin admits, speaking so quickly that Jinsol is thankful she’s known Hyunjin all her life. She’s more than used to her best friend’s outbursts, but to any passerbys, Hyunjin would sound like she’s speaking another language.

“Does that mean it went bad?” Jinsol asks, tentatively.

Hyunjin’s eyes widen. “Oh my god, do you think it went bad? Did she not seem into me?”

“What? No! She seemed super into you! Do you think it went bad?” Jinsol asks, confused.

Hyunjin shakes her head fervently. “I think it went great! I needed a break because my heart was pounding a mile a minute the entire time and whenever I’m around her she takes my breath away.”

Jinsol has to prevent herself from laughing at the cheesiness of what Hyunjin just said, the lovesick grin on Hyunjin’s face enough for her to keep the teasing remarks to herself just this once.

“Well good! I’m glad we’re on the same page!” Jinsol replies, sharing her best friend’s smile despite being frustrated by the woman’s overall cluelessness.

Hyunjin sighs dreamily, before she seems to come to her senses and trains her gaze on Jinsol, waving an accusatory finger in her direction.

“Hang on, I saw you dancing with Sooyoung. Much too close to be platonic, I might add. Care to elaborate?” Hyunjin reaches a hand towards Jinsol, mimicking the act of holding a microphone to Jinsol’s lips.

Jinsol rolls her eyes, trying to fight the blush threatening to colour her cheeks, and moves to push past Hyunjin and head back towards the reception.

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” Jinsol replies nonchalantly, Hyunjin hot on her tail. She scoffs, and wraps an arm around the blonde’s shoulders as they re-enter the ballroom.

“Fine, then I guess I must have imagined the way she was smiling when you two were dancing. Reminded me of the Sooyoung from back in college, but better. Like she had nothing to hide, and she wanted everyone to know just how happy she was.”

Jinsol’s eyes snap to Hyunjin’s, who has a devilish grin on her face. But she has truth in her eyes, and Jinsol can’t help but feel giddy, like she’s a teenager in love again. She’s overwhelmed with the urge to just throw away the caution and worries that constantly cloud the air around her and Sooyoung, say “fuck it” and jump straight off the deep end. In her mind, Sooyoung is waiting at the bottom to catch her.

“You might get your happy ending after all,” Hyunjin says with a smile, giving Jinsol’s shoulder a squeeze.

“I already have it. Anything else is just a bonus,” Jinsol replies honestly.

“I’m proud of you, kid. You’ve done a lot of maturing in the past 24 hours.”

Jinsol laughs, and leans into Hyunjin’s embrace. “Yeah, I’ll have to thank Haseul and Vivi for giving me the perfect place to have a defining moment of self-realization.”

The pounding of the speakers gets louder, another dance track coming on to replace the country song that was previously playing. Jinsol chose to opt out of the ridiculous line dance led by Haseul, but this one is more her style. She drags Hyunjin out onto the dance floor, and she dances without a care in the world.

She does keep her eyes out for a certain someone, but Jinsol can’t find the elusive brunette on the dance floor. She thinks nothing of it, sure that they’ll find their way to each other sooner or later.

Haseul and Vivi end up joining them once more, and the two duos engage in a fierce dance competition to a collection of Lady Gaga anthems. Unfortunately for the newlyweds, Jinsol and Hyunjin bust out their childhood routine when Born this Way starts playing, and when Hyunjin lifts Jinsol onto her shoulders and they perform an elaborate arm move in unison. Haseul and Vivi can only stand back and applaud when Hyunjin brings Jinsol back down to earth.

“You guys must have had no other friends besides each other when you were younger,” Vivi teases, still giving each winner a customary handshake.

“We might have had a little too much time on our hands,” Jinsol admits. The group laughs, and Jinsol doesn’t think her elation will ever be dampened.

That is, until she finally lays her eyes on Sooyoung for the first time since their dance.

And she isn’t alone.

All Jinsol can see is her back, but the head of brunette hair is unmistakable. It’s been seared in Jinsol’s mind since the day before. She can see Sooyoung’s face poking out from behind the brunette, and the smile on her ex-girlfriend’s face makes Jinsol’s heart crack.

When it looks like the brunette is going to lean closer, Jinsol turns around, absolutely sure she doesn’t want to watch what would happen next.

She closes her eyes, suddenly feeling very far away from her surroundings despite the number of bodies around her and the pulsing music pounding in her ears. She takes a deep breath, and tries to remind herself of all of the things she’d been thinking all day. All of the wonderful things she has, without Sooyoung.

It doesn’t quite work, but it helps soothe the pain. Right now, it’s hard to put things in perspective when she feels her heart is on the verge of being broken again.

But, Jinsol forces her eyes to open. She hates that this pain feels all too familiar, but if she needed a sign as to whether or not she should let Sooyoung in one last time, she’s certainly found it.

This time, though, it hurts a little differently, because Jinsol genuinely thought Sooyoung had changed. Even when Sooyoung left her in college, left her stranded in the storage closet yesterday, she couldn’t have said that she was surprised. Stunned, heartbroken, confused perhaps, but not surprised. Because, knowing Sooyoung, it seemed like something she was capable of doing.

Maybe that’s why Jinsol can feel tears threaten to fall from her eyes, because this is genuinely a surprise. Or maybe it isn’t, maybe Sooyoung hasn’t changed at all, and this was just all part of her game. Jinsol doesn’t know anything anymore, doesn’t know what part of Sooyoung is true and what isn’t.

Hyunjin is quick to notice Jinsol’s immediate distress, and she raises an eyebrow of concern. Jinsol shakes her head, and tries to put her own feelings aside not for the first time that weekend. Haseul and Vivi are so happy, and she still has a speech to deliver. She knows she’ll have plenty of time to break down in the confines of her and Hyunjin’s hotel room.

Speaking of, the DJ taps on the microphone in front of him and announces it’s time for everyone to be seated for dinner.

Jinsol’s appetite has eluded her, but she solemnly makes her way to the table with Hyunjin’s hand tightly linked to her own. She hopes she can get through this dinner without complication, dreading having to be so close to Sooyoung again.

They take their seats, Sooyoung the last to arrive at the table. Jinsol can feel her ex-girlfriend’s eyes on her, but she makes sure not to meet them. Hyunjin’s hand rests on her leg in support, and Jinsol is thankful that she can converse with her best friend and ignore the black hole sitting at the other side of the table.

“Dinner is served!”

Jinsol’s steak is placed in front of her, with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables as the sides. It looks delicious, and when she looks at Hyunjin’s plate, she’s surprised to see a matching plate.

“Didn’t you have the steak last night?” Jinsol asks.

“Yeah, and?” Hyunjin replies, already digging into her steak with glee.

Jinsol smiles, and she manages to catch the light scoff from Sooyoung across the table. She doesn’t pass her a glance, however, more than happy to focus on her own steak and talk with Haseul and Vivi. Sooyoung remains quiet throughout the meal, fiddling with her chicken, having also decided to have her meal from the rehearsal dinner.

“I’m honestly shocked that tonight has gone as well as it has considering the chaos of this morning,” Vivi says to the table, finishing the last bites of her meal.

“Yeah, I have no idea how you two managed to solve all of those issues. You’re the real heroes of this wedding,” Haseul says with glee, looking thankfully to the two maid of honours.

This time, Jinsol does look in Sooyoung’s direction, and she’s immediately sucked in by the intensity of Sooyoung’s gaze. She tries not to give anything away, keeping her frustration and sadness with the other woman deep down for the time being, and ignores the confusion that is lingering on Sooyoung’s face. Jinsol turns to Haseul and Vivi with a smile.

“It was no problem, really. At least we had something to do, I can’t spend the whole day just standing around looking pretty.”

The table laughs, Jinsol putting up the best smile she can muster. It isn’t too hard when she’s sitting next to Haseul. Sooyoung, of course, doesn’t laugh, and instead takes a sip of her champagne while keeping her eyes trained on Jinsol.

In a way, Jinsol likes having the upper hand, and knowing that she’s driving Sooyoung crazy never fails to make her feel a little giddy. But she’s tired of driving Sooyoung crazy. She doesn’t want that to be their dynamic anymore, at least not right now. Right when she thought they were done with the games, Sooyoung seems to have pulled her right back into one.

Their plates are eventually taken away, and a microphone is handed to Haseul.

“So who’s going first?” Haseul asks. It takes Jinsol a moment to understand what Haseul is asking, before she has to deliver her speech as maid of honour. Right.

An idea flashes in Jinsol’s mind, and despite having her speech mostly planned out, she decides that a few last minute changes might make the impact hit a little harder. For one person in particular.

“I’ll go first,” Jinsol says quickly, snatching the microphone out of Haseul’s hands. She’s thankful it isn’t turned on, otherwise feedback would have echoed uncomfortably throughout the room.

Haseul gives the DJ the signal, and he starts to slowly fade out the ambient background music. Jinsol takes a breath to steady herself, turns on the microphone, and taps it a few times to get everyone’s attention.

“Hello? Testing, testing,” Jinsol starts, fighting back the nerves that threaten to put a shake in both her voice and her hands.

She eventually has the attention of the whole room, and she gulps nervously. She’s thankful she has at least one drink in her as there isn’t a chance in hell she’d be able to do this sober. Last night’s practice toast was nothing compared to this. There are more people, and Jinsol can spot a video camera in the back recording the whole thing.

“Well, I guess you can all hear me. So, I’d like to thank everyone for being here on this wonderful day, celebrating the love of two of my favourite people,” Jinsol says, again finding comfort in the familiar warm gazes of the brides. “I’m sure there wasn’t a dry eye in attendance during the ceremony, so I’ll try not to make this too much of a tear-jerker.”

A laugh ripples the crowd, and Jinsol grows a little in confidence. She opens up her heart, and decides to let it speak for itself.

“Haseul and Vivi, god where do I even begin. I won’t start at the beginning, because I think we all know the details. I will say, however, that there was a time where I didn’t think they would be a good match for each other. I was secretly rooting against them, and when they finally did get together, I was convinced that their relationship was doomed to fail.”

Jinsol pauses, relishing the look of surprise on Haseul and Vivi’s faces. “I’ve never been more happy to be wrong.”

“They have the perfect relationship, but only because it is imperfect. They disagree, they argue, and they run into obstacles. But that doesn’t matter, because they love each other enough to work through them together.”

Jinsol takes a breath.

“Something I’ve always admired is how honest they are with each other. There are never any doubts, never any crossed signals. They completely open themselves to each other, with nothing but love and acceptance shared between them.”

Jinsol pauses. “No secrets, no games. Just love.” She starts to feel herself tear up, and she makes the mistake of looking in Sooyoung’s direction.

The look on the brunette’s face is unreadable, but Jinsol knows the message has gotten to her loud and clear.

“I think I can speak for all of us when I say that I wish I had a relationship like theirs,” Jinsol laughs, only half joking, as she maintains eye contact with Sooyoung. The audience laughs, most nodding their heads, and this time, it’s Sooyoung who looks away. She starts to play with the hem of the tablecloth, and Jinsol looks up one more to address the audience.

“They learn from their mistakes, and they constantly strive to be the best version of themselves for each other. And I can’t think of two people more deserving of the lifetime of happiness that is surely awaiting them.”

Jinsol reaches down to grip her champagne glass.

“To Haseul and Vivi.”

The audience cheers, raising their glass with Jinsol in support. Jinsol exhales deeply, and sits down with a slump. She turns off the microphone and places it on the table in front of her.

“You did good,” Hyunjin says, squeezing her leg in reassurance. She leans over to whisper into Jinsol’s ear. “And I think she took the hint.”

Jinsol’s smile is small, happy in a way, but mostly wistful. Like she wishes things didn't end up this way. Wishes that she could go back and choose a different path, one that wouldn’t lead her here, feeling this way.

“That was lovely, Jinsol,” Vivi exclaims, her eyes a little teary, and Haseul shares the sentiment. The brunette places a hand on Jinsol’s shoulder as she moves to whisper in Jinsol’s other ear.

“You said we’ve never had any doubts, but I came to you with them last night. Why did you lie?”

Jinsol leans back a little to stare into Haseul’s eyes.

“Wedding jitters don’t count. We both know you would have been walking down the aisle today, as happy as you were, with or without my help.”

Haseul laughs, but she can’t help but nod. “You’re probably right. I blame the alcohol.”

Jinsol spares a glance at Sooyoung, who’s attempting to turn on the microphone for her own speech.

“So do I,” Jinsol replies. Haseul gives her a questioning look, but Sooyoung standing up and tapping on the microphone gets their attention.

“Hi, everyone. I’ll try and keep this short, mostly because I’ve been eyeing that wedding cake since we got here and I’m trying to hurry things along here,” Sooyoung starts. As the crowd laughs at Sooyoung’s usual charm, Jinsol can’t help but notice that despite her wit, she seems a little rattled.

Jinsol knows she should feel a little proud, catching Sooyoung off guard is no easy feat, but all she feels is that same wistfulness. A yearning for something that seemed so close, but was likely much farther out of her reach than she’d thought.

“For much of my life, I didn’t believe in true love. I thought it was, you know, fairytale stuff. There was just no way that anyone could love anyone that much, that completely, for their whole lives.”

Jinsol’s eyes widen, and while she’d been avoiding looking in Sooyoung’s direction, her eyes are now trained on her ex-girlfriend’s face as she opens herself up in a way she so very rarely does.

“I guess that probably explains why I’m still single, among other things,” Sooyoung trails off, before she seems to refocus herself. “But, even I, the harshest cynic anyone has ever met, cannot deny that Haseul and Vivi are truly made for each other. They have the love that I still believe only exists in stories.”

Sooyoung turns to the happy couple, her smile bittersweet.

“Of course, this isn’t a story, and their love is the realest thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing grow and flourish. They seem to fall more in love with each other every day, and they constantly find more ways that they complement each other.”

Sooyoung scoffs. “It was only a couple of months ago when they found out that they were both allergic to lobster. How that never came up in almost 7 years of being together I have no clue.”

Jinsol can’t help but laugh, not at all surprised at that anecdote. Her laugh seems to get Sooyoung’s attention, and this time, it’s the brunette’s turn to speak from the heart.

“They have a love that I wish I could have, and it is the type of love that they absolutely deserve.”

She sighs, looking like she wants to say more, but instead retrieves her glass of champagne and raises it to the audience.

“To Haseul and Vivi. May their fairytale never end.”

Jinsol downs the rest of her champagne glass in one hand, feeling a little overwhelmed after Sooyoung’s words coupled with her intense and completely indecipherable gaze. She flags down the nearest waiter and asks for a vodka and sprite, ignoring the promise she made to herself earlier in the night.

Hyunjin gives her a questioning look. “Are we on course for a repeat of last night?”

Jinsol laughs, shaking her head. “I’m at least three drinks away from getting anywhere near that, don’t worry,” she replies, trying to seem more nonchalant than she’s actually feeling.

Sooyoung takes her seat, but not before both Haseul and Vivi envelop her in a group hug. Jinsol can’t help but smile at the sight, happy that at the very least, Sooyoung has people who do truly love her, and who she loves back. Even if Jinsol doesn’t end up being one of them.

It isn’t long before Haseul and Vivi are summoned to cut the cake, to which the pair waste no time, smearing frosting on each other’s faces like every cliche in the book. When it’s them, though, it’s sweet all the same.

Eventually, the DJ starts to bring the party back on, playing a string of hits from back when Jinsol and her friends were in college. She tries to force herself to join Haseul, Vivi, Hyunjin, and even Heejin, on the dance floor, but she feels rooted in her chair. Sooyoung is again nowhere to be found, and Jinsol decides that she definitely needs a bit of fresh air.

She slips out of the ballroom, sending Hyunjin a glance of reassurance when she catches her best friend’s concerned look, and makes her way through the courtyard.

It isn’t long before she’s back where the ceremony was held only a few hours ago. The aisle and chairs haven’t been cleared yet, the staff probably too consumed with setting up for the reception..

Jinsol breathes in the mountain air, finding it incredibly healing, and enjoys the tranquil silence as she makes her way down the aisle for the second time. Her hands trail along the seats as she tries to clear her head of all the noise and fuzziness, focusing on what she can see, touch, feel. She exhales deeply as she reaches the front, and takes a seat in the first row, choosing to enjoy the view for a little while longer.

She’s considering turning in for the night, not really wanting to face Sooyoung again. Jinsol feels she’s learned enough this weekend, and at the very least, she does feel like she’s got a bit of closure. As it turns out, Sooyoung never cared about her as much as she thought. Better to know than not know.

Hopefully now she can finally move on.

That’s what Jinsol is thinking, that this whole weekend has been a series of events telling her that she should just move on, when she hears footsteps from behind her. She keeps her face forward, not having to look back to know who it is, and in the corner of her eye, she sees Sooyoung sit in the seat opposite from her, across the aisle.

“It’s gorgeous out here at night,” Sooyoung says. Her tone is hard to determine, not that Jinsol is really trying anymore. She’s wasted too much time trying to analyze Sooyoung’s actions, decisions, words, she’s tired of it. If Sooyoung has something to say, she’ll have to just say it, but Jinsol highly doubts that she’s even capable of that.

“Yeah, I like the quiet. It was getting a little too much in there,” Jinsol replies, watching the way the stars twinkle without the light from the fast-moving cities to hide their glow.

“Do you want me to leave?” Sooyoung asks pensively. Jinsol pauses, but shakes her head despite her better judgement.

“No, you can stay.”

They sit in silence for a few minutes, and it’s nice. Being in Sooyoung’s presence has always made Jinsol feel safe, at home. She hates that, even after everything, the same is still true.

“Did you really mean what you said in there?”

It’s Sooyoung who breaks the silence, and there is a shakiness in her voice that Jinsol wouldn’t associate with her. Still, Jinsol doesn’t look in the brunette’s direction.

“I did.”

Sooyoung sighs, and Jinsol can see her lean forward, her elbows on her legs as she buries her head in her hands. She’s frustrated, but Jinsol doesn’t really know why. And she doesn’t know why Sooyoung is out here with her instead of dancing with that pretty brunette.

“I’m really sorry, Jinsol. I don’t think I can ever tell you how sorry I am,” Sooyoung replies.

Jinsol has to hold back a scoff. She’s trying to ignore her heart telling her to trust this Sooyoung, the one that she had spent the whole day with, but how can she?

“Why are you out here? It seemed like you had someone inside more than willing to give you what you want tonight,” Jinsol says, a hint of snark. She can’t really keep it back, and it seems a bit of a low blow, but she feels like she has a right to be a little angry. After everything Sooyoung has put her through.

Jinsol feels Sooyoung’s eyes on her as she lifts her head in confusion. Jinsol watches as a few fireflies buzz around in front of her.

“What are you talking about?”

“That brunette you were talking to. She was practically throwing herself at you, and you didn’t seem to mind.” Jinsol cringes at how bitter she sounds, fitting the jealous ex-girlfriend stereotype to a tee, but she can’t bring herself to care at this point.

“Oh, you must be talking about Jungeun.” Sooyoung runs a hand through her hair. “Yeah, I guess I was into her at first yesterday, when you saw us at the bar. But-”

She stops herself, and Jinsol finally looks Sooyoung in the eye, wanting to hear the end of that sentence. Sooyoung gulps, but she doesn’t break eye contact.

“The moment I saw you, it was like nothing else mattered. Nobody else mattered, just you,” Sooyoung says, almost at a whisper.

Jinsol’s eyes widen, and she can’t say anything. She doesn’t know what to say, and any words would likely get stuck in her throat. She feels a little embarrassed at her apparently misguided assumption, but she doesn’t have much time to dwell on that, as Sooyoung takes Jinsol’s silence as a cue to continue.

“I think I probably owe you an explanation, I never really gave you one, and that wasn’t fair to you. After everything that happened…” Sooyoung closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. “It’s the least I could do.”

All Jinsol can do is nod, still not quite sure that what she’s currently experiencing is reality.

“This isn’t, well, easy for me, talking like this, so I’m sor-”

“It’s okay,” Jinsol interrupts. She’d lay a hand on Sooyoung’s leg if she could, but she thinks the little bit of distance between them is probably a good thing. “I know, just, take your time. I don’t have anywhere to be.”

Sooyoung laughs lightly, shaking her head as she looks up into the dark of night. Jinsol is thankful to whoever decided to light up the area with fairy lights, as they are the only thing that is illuminating the pair besides the bright white of the moon.

It takes Sooyoung a few moments, in which Jinsol can’t help but admire how beautiful she is. She doesn’t think there will ever be a time in which she won’t consider Sooyoung the most beautiful woman she’s ever laid eyes on.

“I- I know that I messed up. Believe me, you don’t need to tell me that, and I’m not trying to excuse that or anything. I just, I know you. And I know you probably wondered if it was your fault, or if you ever did anything, and I can’t let you think that any longer.”

Sooyoung sighs, not for the first time. She’s almost slumped over in her chair, but she’s turned so that her body is facing Jinsol’s. If Jinsol did the same, she might be able to hold the brunette’s tightly clenched hands, but she’s not quite ready for that yet.

“I’ve told you this I think, I don’t know, but I’ve not had the greatest experiences with people. I’ve been let down and hurt in the past, so it’s not that easy for me to trust people. I usually just wait around for them to hurt me, to want to leave,” Sooyoung admits. The pain in her voice tugs at Jinsol’s heartstrings.

“And then, I met you.” She smiles, looking at Jinsol like she hung all of the stars in the sky above them. “You were so happy, so carefree, and you instantly brought so much colour to my black and white life.”

Sooyoung looks away, her gaze turning to the ground as her hands start to fidget. Jinsol is enthralled, hanging on her every word, not ever remembering a time that the other woman has ever been this candid.

“That scared the shit out of me,” she admits. “I was so scared of losing you, that you’d realize how fucked up I was that you’d leave. You were so far out of my league, and because of that, I never really opened myself up to you the way that I should have.”

Jinsol can’t help but agree. It turns out there was a reason as to why Sooyoung always seemed just out of her grasp, never quite committing. The pieces in Jinsol’s mind start to fall into place with every word out of Sooyoung’s lips.

“I kept you at arms length, and for a while it was okay. Well, it wasn’t, but it was good. You made me so happy, and I tried so hard to make you happy too,” Sooyoung says, her eyes finding Jinsol’s once again to convey the truth in her words.

“Then, I got that job offer. You’d already been accepted for your internship, and the stars in your eyes, god I was so worried once you got out and into the real world, you’d finally realize you were wasting your time with me.”

Jinsol’s eyebrows furrow, but Sooyoung continues before she can interject.

“I know, it was stupid. So stupid, and it’s taken me a long time to realize that my mindset was so negative, so clouded by my fears and worries that I decided the only option I had was to let you go before it was too late.”

Tears start running down Jinsol’s face before she even realizes she’s crying. Sooyoung’s face contorts in sadness when she notices, but she doesn’t reach for Jinsol yet.

“I pushed you away when all you did was love me,” Sooyoung whispers, tears of her own threatening to fall.

Neither of them say anything for a while, Jinsol trying to process the onslaught of information she’s just been given. Her gaze has shifted to the ground in front of them, watching the grass move with the night breeze.

So many thoughts circle throughout her head, but Sooyoung’s words have provided her with an understanding that she has desperately craved ever since her graduation day. It’s healing, she can almost feel the cracks in her heart that always threatened to deepen begin to cover themselves over. Not fully, but more than she ever expected them to. She doesn’t fight the words that have threatened to spill out since the second Sooyoung finished speaking.

“I forgive you.”

Sooyoung’s head snaps in Jinsol’s direction, it being a good five minutes since either of them spoke. Jinsol doesn’t have to look at her to know what she will say next.

“You don’t hav-”

“I know. But I do.” Jinsol looks up and into Sooyoung’s eyes. “I forgive you.”

Jinsol can practically see the weight on Sooyoung’s shoulders lift, and the relief on her face makes Jinsol’s heart feel fuzzy.

“Thank you,” Sooyoung replies, a genuine smile threatening to grace her lips, but she seems afraid to let it.

Jinsol isn’t afraid, though, not anymore. She smiles, and beckons Sooyoung to come and sit beside her. The brunette practically sprints over to her, and Jinsol laughs at her eagerness.

“I was hoping you’d changed, but I was worried it was just wishful thinking,” Jinsol admits, hyper aware of Sooyoung’s close proximity.

“I have, honestly. Talking to someone certainly didn’t hurt, but I’ve also done a little bit of what they call soul-searching,” Sooyoung says, wiggling her eyebrows in emphasis.

Jinsol laughs again. “Oh yeah? And how’d that turn out for you?”

“Pretty good actually, I realized I was kind of a piece of shit.”

“I mean you said it,” Jinsol mutters under her breath, a cheeky smile on her face as Sooyoung gasps in offence.

“You weren’t supposed to agree with me!” Sooyoung whines, poking Jinsol’s side and making her squirm in her seat.

“Well, a piece of shit is a bit of a stretch, but they say the first step is acceptance,” Jinsol says.

Sooyoung scoffs. “Fine, I guess I’m a recovering piece of shit.”

“Yeah, that sounds right. I’ll make sure to be there when you get your five year chip.”

They both laugh, and somehow Jinsol’s hand has ended up intertwined with Sooyoung’s. When she notices, she can’t bring herself to pull her hand away, too engrossed in the familiar warmth of everything that is Sooyoung.

The laughter eventually dies down, and they are once again enveloped in a comfortable silence. Jinsol knows they are both supposed to be back in the hotel celebrating with their friends. But, she doesn’t think there is any place she’d rather be.

“It’s always been you, you know,” Sooyoung says quietly, breaking the silence. “I could never look at anyone else. You’re it for me, Jinsol.”

Jinsol turns to look at her, their faces so close that she can feel Sooyoung’s warm breath on her face. She’s trying to find the right words to say, but nothing quite seems right.

She feels like she should be scared. She feels like she shouldn’t trust Sooyoung, should be wary that there is every chance that she will only hurt her again.

But Jinsol isn’t any of those things. Everything in this moment just feels right, like she is exactly where she’s supposed to be. That everything up until now has just been one step of the journey, and she’s finally reached the destination.

Maybe she’s a fool, and maybe she will get hurt again. But looking into Sooyoung’s eyes, seeing in them what she knows for sure to be love, all she can say is that Sooyoung is worth every second chance she could give.

So, she smiles. She won’t promise anything, won’t commit to anything right now, but the way Sooyoung’s eyes start to sparkle and a smile of her own lights up her face, Jinsol knows the brunette won’t let her down a second time.

They laugh as they run through the courtyard, racing each other back to the entrance to the ballroom. They laugh as they approach their friends, hand in hand, and ignore the very questioning, but happy, looks from the brides. They laugh as they sloppily try to dance their way through a couple of dance tracks, ending up stepping on each other’s toes more than the surface below them.

And they stop laughing when they are in each other’s embrace, swaying as a slow song rings through their ears. Except, they can’t really hear it, too focused on each other to notice anything around them.

And when Jinsol finally leans in, connecting her lips with Sooyoung’s in a kiss that feels like it’s been over three years in the making, every bit of frustration, sadness, anger, and despair leaves her body in an instant. She feels her own weight lift off of her shoulders, the weight that she’d been carrying for over three years, and she can’t help but smile into the kiss. Sooyoung pulls away with a smile just as big, and leans forward to place a kiss on Jinsol’s forehead before bringing her even closer.

Jinsol doesn’t know what will come next. Doesn’t know what might happen when they leave this mountain paradise and enter the real world again. The future is scary, but standing in Sooyoung’s arms, an immeasurable sense of hope blossoming in her chest, Jinsol isn’t afraid of anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> she's done!! sorry it took so long this was a bitch and a half to write i won't lie
> 
> not sure how happy i am with it, it ended up different than i originally planned but!! i hope y'all enjoyed the ride
> 
> thank you for reading :)))


End file.
